Q. What is the Common Ground Alliance?
A. The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is a
coalition of 1,400 excavators, locators, road
builders, electric, telecommunications, oil,
gas, railroad, One-Call Centers, public works,
equipment manufacturing & suppliers, state
regulators, insurance and engineering/design,
and emergency services. Officially formed in
2000, CGA represents a continuation of the
United States Department of Transportation's
Common Ground Study. The study highlighted the
need for one organization to continuously update
best practices among the growing underground
utility industry. The Common Ground Alliance was
thus formed to assist in preventing damages to
underground infrastructure, reduce service
disruptions, save lives, and improve safety
practices industry-wide through damage
prevention programs and technology initiatives.
Q. What is 811?
A. 811 is a new national "Call Before You
Dig" number designated by the FCC to help
protect homeowners and professional excavators
from injuries, expenses and penalties. This new
national safety resource will make it easy for
homeowners and professionals across the country
to protect themselves by calling before
beginning any digging project, whether it be
something small like planting a tree or
installing a mailbox or a larger project like
building an addition or deck.
Q. How widespread is the problem of "not
calling" in the country? How much damage and
injury does it cause nationally?
A. A national survey showed that only 33%
of homeowner do-it-yourselfers called to have
their lines marked before starting digging
projects. Simple digging jobs can damage utility
lines, which can disrupt service to an entire
neighborhood, harm diggers, and potentially
result in fines and repair costs. Failure to
call before a digging project results in nearly
700,000 underground utility damages annually –
that's more than one unintentional hit per
minute.
Q. When will the new 811 number be up and
running?
A. The vast majority of the network will
be in place May 1, 2007. It is customary for
telecommunications services to be launched
nationally even when they will not be
operational for the entire country at launch; in
fact, the well-known 911 service is still not
available to 100% of Americans some 39 years
after it was introduced.
Q. Who will answer the phone if I call 811?
Where will they be located?
A. There are 62 One-Call Centers, or
"Call Before You Dig" centers located around the
country. The representatives at your local
One-Call Center will answer the phone when you
call to quickly and easily start the location
process. Diggers will sill be able to contact
their local One-Call Center through existing 800
#'s.
Q. Can you take me through the
"behind-the-scenes" process of what happens once
a person calls 811 to notify them of a digging
project?
A. One free, easy phone call to 811
quickly begins the process of getting
underground utility lines marked. Local One-Call
Center personnel will record your information
then notify affected utility companies, who will
send locate crews to mark the approximate
location of underground lines and ensure that
digging is done safely.
Q. How will this new number change the
process of digging for homeowners and industry?
A. 811 will dramatically improve the
process of calling before digging. The new
number is designed to eliminate the confusion of
multiple "Call Before You Dig" numbers, save
lives and protect the American underground
infrastructure.
Q. How far in advance do I need to call 811
before the start of a digging project?
A. This varies from state to state –
usually 72 hours prior to the excavation, but
not more than 10 days.
Q. Is there really a need for this number?
Doesn't everyone already know to call their
local "Call Before You Dig" Center?
A. Those who dig are often aware of "Call
Before You Dig" services, but make risky
assumptions about where utility lines are buried
or when they should call. In fact, a recent
national survey showed that only 33% of
homeowner do-it-yourselfers called to have their
lines marked before starting digging projects.
Simple digging jobs can damage utility lines,
which can disrupt service to an entire
neighborhood, harm diggers, and potentially
result in fines and repair costs. 811 will let
diggers know what's below when they always call
before they dig.
Q. What if lines aren't marked by the time
you want to start?
A. Failure to have lines marked may
result in damage to utility lines, service
outages to entire neighborhoods, injury, and may
potentially result in fines and repair costs. It
is important to wait until your lines are
marked, typically between 48 and 72 hours
excluding weekends and legal holidays, before
beginning any digging project.
Q. What could go wrong if we don't call 811
before digging?
A. Failure to call before digging results
in more than one unintentional hit per minute,
the consequences of which include injury,
penalties, repair costs, fines and expensive and
inconvenient service outages. Knowing where
underground utility lines are buried before each
digging project begins helps to prevent these
unintentional service interruptions. The depth
of utility lines may vary and multiple utility
lines may exist in one area. Marked lines show
those who dig the approximate location of
underground lines and help prevent undesired
consequences
In