NEW JERSEY NATURAL GAS ENCOURAGES RESIDENTS TO CALL 811 BEFORE DIGGING TO AVOID RISKING DISRUPTION OF CRITICAL SERVICES

Wall, N.J. – April is National Safe Digging Month and recognized as the start of “dig season.” With the warmer weather approaching, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) encourages residents to drop that shovel and call 811 before beginning any project that requires digging.

A recent national survey* from the Common Ground Alliance indicates over 50% of homeowners in the U.S. plan to complete an outdoor, do-it-yourself project over the next 12 months, while 26.9 million Americans will put themselves and their communities at risk by not calling 811 before starting a digging project. NJNG reminds residents it is the law in New Jersey to call 811 for a free markout of underground utility lines for all residential and commercial excavation jobs — from planting a shrub to large construction projects. It could be the difference between your safety and potentially a costly and dangerous incident.

According to the Common Ground Alliance, one of the top reasons homeowners do not call for a markout of underground utilities is they are unfamiliar with the 811-notification process, especially when it comes to shallow digging projects. Even small projects like planting a garden or installing a mailbox or fence post require a call to 811 since many utilities are buried just a few inches below ground.

“When residents don’t contact 811 at least three business days before digging, they put themselves and their neighbors at serious risk of injury and utility service interruptions,” said John Wyckoff, vice president of Energy Delivery, New Jersey Natural Gas. “We encourage residents to be our partners in safety and emphasize the importance of contacting 811 for anyone who plans to dig, so they can safely avoid hitting buried lines.”

Digging without knowing the approximate location of underground utility lines can result in serious injury or death, inconvenient service disruptions, and costly fines and repairs. Hitting underground natural gas, electric, communications, water and sewer lines while digging can have a major impact on communities and businesses. So, whoever plans on digging — a homeowner, contractor or excavator — should call 811 for a free markout of underground utility lines to help maintain essential utility service for their communities and the safety of themselves and their neighbors by reducing the likelihood of accidentally digging into buried utility lines.

As part of National Safe Digging Month, NJNG encourages everyone to take the following steps when planning a digging project this spring:

• Always call 811 at least three business days and not more than 10 business days before digging, regardless of the depth or familiarity with the property.
• Plan ahead. Make a free 811 request on Monday or Tuesday for work planned for an upcoming weekend, providing ample time for the approximate location of lines to be marked.
• Confirm all lines have been marked. Yellow indicates the presence of underground natural gas lines. (Expect a positive response from utilities in your area.)
• Hand dig and locate the facility and consider moving the location of your project if it is near utility line markings.
• If a contractor has been hired, confirm that the contractor has contacted 811. Don't allow work to begin if the lines aren't marked.

• New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates and maintains natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve nearly 580,000 customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris, Middlesex, Sussex and Burlington counties.
• Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar projects with a total capacity of approximately 473 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.
• Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across North America.
• Storage and Transportation serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its ownership of Leaf River Energy Center and the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline, as well as our 50% equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage facility.
• 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 throughout New Jersey.