New Jersey Natural Gas
NEW JERSEY NATURAL GAS REMINDS CUSTOMERS TO BE SAFE AND CALL 811 BEFORE DIGGING TO AVOID RISKING DISTRUPTION OF CRITICAL SERVICES
03/26/2025 - For Immediate ReleaseWALL, N.J. – April is National Safe Digging Month, and New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) wants to remind residents to drop that shovel and call 811 before beginning any project that requires digging.
With the arrival of spring weather, home and business owners are eager to get started on outdoor projects. Even simple jobs, like planting shrubs and flowerbeds or installing a mailbox or fence, requires a call to 811 for a free markout of underground utility lines. Many may be surprised to learn underground utility lines may be buried just a few inches below the ground’s surface. Without a markout, common outdoor projects can become dangerous and result in property damage, utility outages, costly repairs and injury.
“Digging near an underground utility is the leading cause of natural gas pipeline incidents,” said John Wyckoff, vice president of Energy Delivery at New Jersey Natural Gas. “Knowing what’s below is critical to the safety of residents and communities. We encourage customers to keep safety top of mind by always calling 811 for a markout before picking up a shovel.”
New Jersey law requires anyone who plans to dig — excavators, contractors and property owners — to call 811 or visit nj1-call.org at least three full business days, and no more than 10, prior to starting any digging project. You will be automatically connected with New Jersey One Call, which generates a request to local utility companies for a free markout of the approximate location of their buried lines with paint or flags. Yellow indicates the presence of a buried natural gas line.
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, no more than 10 business days before digging, regardless of the depth or familiarity with the property.
- Plan ahead and call 811 on a Monday or Tuesday for work planned for an upcoming weekend. This will provide 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.
- Consider moving the location of the project if it is near utility line markings.
- If a contractor has been hired, confirm the contractor has contacted 811 for a markout of underground utilities. Don't allow work to begin if the lines aren't marked.
To learn more about safe digging practices visit 811beforeyoudig.com or njng.com/safety/dig.aspx.
About New Jersey Resources
New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that, through its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean 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 natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean, Morris, Middlesex, Sussex and Burlington counties.
- Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar projects, providing 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 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.
NJR and its over 1,300 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve® and initiatives such as SAVEGREEN®.
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Contact:
Michael Kinney, Media
732-938-1031
Adam Prior, Investors
732-938-1145