Aug. 11 Serves As Reminder For New Jersey Residents To Always Call 811 Before Digging

Wall, N.J. –With Aug. 11 almost here, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) hopes this date on the calendar, 8/11, will serve as a reminder for residents to call 811 prior to any digging project to have underground utility lines marked. Every few minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811.

Careless digging can result in the disruption of vital services, property damage, repair costs, fines and even injuries. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree and laying a patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before starting.

Dialing 811 will connect you to New Jersey One Call, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of your intent to dig. Professional locators will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate locations of underground utilities, within the scope of the markout request, with flags, paint or both. Yellow indicates a natural gas line. 

In recognition of National 811 Day, NJNG invites residents to attend its annual Dig Safely Fair on Sunday, August 11, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at The Home Depot in Hazlet, 3700 Route 35, to learn more about safe digging practices. Representatives from NJNG, New Jersey One Call, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and UtiliQuest will be on hand to educate attendees and answer questions about how to dig safely around natural gas facilities, identify a natural gas leak and keep property and communities safe. Plus, the first 100 in attendance will get a free T-shirt.

 “On Aug. 11 and throughout the year, we encourage whoever is digging to apply safe digging practices. Making the call is not only required by law, it is an important step to keeping people and their properties safe from harm” said Craig Lynch, senior vice president of energy delivery, at New Jersey Natural Gas.

NJNG encourages homeowners to take the following steps before beginning to dig:

• Always call 811 at least three, but not more than 10, business days prior to the start of digging, regardless of the depth of the dig or your familiarity with the property.
• Before digging, confirm the markout has taken place. Yellow indicates the presence of underground natural gas lines.
• Respect all markings. Take a photo of the markout because inclement weather may wash away painted markings. Maintain the markouts until no longer necessary and move the location of your project if it is near utility line markings.
• Dig with care – hand dig within two feet of the outer wall of the underground facility.

For more information about 811 and safe digging practices, visit nj1-call.org or the My Safety section of njng.com. In the event of damage to a natural gas pipeline immediately call 911 followed by a call to NJNG at 800-GAS-LEAK (427-5325). 

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that provides safe and reliable natural gas and renewable energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses: 

• New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates and maintains nearly 7,500 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve more than half a million customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean, Morris, Middlesex and Burlington counties.
• NJR Clean Energy Ventures is a leading renewable energy company that invests in, owns and operates residential and commercial solar projects with a total capacity in excess of 250 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low carbon solutions.
• NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets, and provides customized energy solutions to customers across North America.
• NJR Midstream serves customers, from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers, through its 50 percent equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage facility and a 20 percent equity interest in the PennEast Pipeline Project.
• NJR Home Services provides service contracts, as well as heating, central air conditioning, water heaters, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes and businesses throughout New Jersey.

NJR and its more than 1,000 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve^® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project® and The Sunlight Advantage^®. 

For more information about NJR:

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