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What’s Below
Pipelines transport much of the natural gas, liquid
fuels and other hazardous materials that Americans
use every day. In fact, there are over 500,000 miles of
large-diameter, high-pressure pipelines crisscrossing
the United States. These pipelines are in every state,
and most are underground.
Digging into a pipeline can result in catastrophe.
Excavation damage – or digging in to pipelines
– is one of the leading causes of natural gas and
hazardous liquid pipeline accidents that cause
property damage, injury or death. Even scraping or
nicking a pipeline can cause a future leak. But the
good news is that damaging pipelines while digging
is entirely preventable.
A call to “811” is the simplest way to prevent
excavation damage to underground pipelines. Call
811 from anywhere in the country a few days prior
to digging, and your call will be routed to your local
One Call Center. Tell the operator where you are
planning to dig and what type of work you will be
doing and your affected local utilities companies
will be notified about your intent to dig. They will
send a locator to mark the approximate location of
underground utilities (including pipelines) so you will
know what’s below and be able to dig safely.
Any digging before calling 811 is dangerous.
Pipelines can be just a few inches below the surface.
Deep excavation is particularly dangerous. Examples
of deep excavation that can easily damage pipelines
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include deep tilling, installing or repairing drain tile,
digging a new well or pond, installing a septic system
or installing fence posts. If you do this kind of work
without calling 811, you are risking your life and
your property.
In most cases, a call to 811 is required by law
before digging. In some states, a call is not required
for some farming activity, such as routine tilling.
However, it \