Before you start to dig, give 811 a call

To help get the word out about safety when digging, April has been proclaimed as Safe Digging Month, which will potentially help prevent dangerous and expensive accidents. Residents and contractors are reminded to always contact the Diggers Hotline, by phone, at 811 or online, at DiggersHotline.com, before they dig.

The Diggers Hotline is a free, statewide, one-call system, that allows the general public and professionals undertaking excavation, to inform multiple utility and telecommunications providers of planned excavation. The one-call center alerts the appropriate underground facility owner, so they can dispatch locators to mark the approximate location of underground facilities with paint, stakes or flags.

Then, it is safe to dig around the marked locations. Under state law, individuals are required to notify the Diggers Hotline at least three days before they excavate, grade, trench, dig, drill, auger, tunnel, scrape, and/or plow or drive cable, or pipes. Once the locations are marked, an 18-inch buffer zone must be maintained on each side of a marked facility and mechanized equipment cannot be used within the buffer zone.

Violations of state law can be reported to the Diggers Hotline Enforcement Center. If probable cause of a violation is found, a panel of Diggers Hotline stakeholders will decide between education or a referral to the Public Service Commission (PSC).

If the case is referred to the PSC, an investigation will determine if there was a violation of the law, and subsequent fines or legal action.