24 Feb DPAC Recommends Advancing Underground Utility Excavation Damage Prevention Policy to Support Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure and Safety
The Honorable Brett Guthrie
Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Gary Palmer
Chairman
Subcommittee on Environment
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr.
Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Paul Tonko
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Environment
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
Dear Chairman Guthrie, Ranking Member Pallone, Chairman Palmer, Ranking Member Tonko and Members of the Subcommittee:
On behalf of the Damage Prevention Action Center (DPAC), a coalition of energy, utility, construction and infrastructure stakeholders dedicated to protecting America’s critical underground infrastructure,[1] we write in connection with today’s hearing, From Source to Tap: A Hearing to Examine Challenges and Opportunities for Safe, Reliable, and Affordable Drinking Water.[2]
As the Subcommittee on Environment evaluates the challenges facing the nation’s drinking water and wastewater systems and infrastructure, we respectfully urge the full committee to advance Section 18[3] of the Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act of 2025 (H.R. 5301),[4] which would strengthen underground utility damage prevention policies and modernize infrastructure mapping practices that are essential to protecting buried water and sewer utilities.
Underground Utility Damage: A Direct Threat to Water Infrastructure
Much of the nation’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is buried and increasingly located in congested underground corridors shared with gas, electric, telecommunications and broadband utility lines. As federal investments accelerate infrastructure deployment – including broadband expansion and utility modernization – the risk of excavation-related damage to water and sewer lines continues to grow.
According to data compiled by the Common Ground Alliance, excavation damage remains one of the leading causes of infrastructure service disruptions nationwide, with hundreds of thousands of reported dig-ins annually spanning all utility sectors. Third-party utility strikes – including to underground water and sewer lines – cost the U.S. economy at least $30 billion annually.[5] Dig-ins to water and sewer lines can:
- Disrupt drinking water service to homes, hospitals and businesses;
- Cause sewage releases and environmental contamination;
- Increase treatment costs and water loss;
- Expose workers and the public to serious safety risks;
- Exacerbate the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage of 349,000 people in 2026 by diverting labor, equipment, materials and contractors to repair preventable water and sewer utility strikes; and
- Erode existing utility, residential, commercial and transportation infrastructure.
Preventing these incidents is not only a matter of public and worker safety – it is central to ensuring reliable and affordable drinking water and sanitary wastewater treatment.
Why Section 18 Matters for Water and Wastewater Utility Infrastructure
Section 18 of the PIPES Act recognizes that modern infrastructure protection depends on accurate, interoperable and accessible underground utility information. By strengthening state underground utility excavation damage prevention programs[6] and encouraging modernization of mapping and locating systems of underground utilities, Congress can significantly reduce avoidable utility strikes before they occur.
While pipeline safety falls within the Committee’s jurisdiction, excavation damage prevention inherently protects all buried infrastructure – including drinking water and wastewater systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act framework.
Advancing Section 18 of the PIPES Act would:[7]
- Improve locate accuracy for water and sewer utilities;
- Reduce costly emergency repairs that burden ratepayers;
- Prevent shortsighted municipal and utility exemptions to state 811 laws;
- Support modernization of underground asset records; and
- Enhance coordination among utility operators sharing underground space.
In short, effective damage prevention policies ensure protection of our Nation’s critical water infrastructure and other underground utilities.
Aligning Federal Infrastructure Policy
Congress has made many recent historic investments in water, broadband and energy infrastructure. Ensuring those investments are not undermined by preventable underground utility excavation damage is a shared federal responsibility.
We respectfully encourage the committee to:
- Swiftly advance the PIPES Act of 2025 through the Energy and Commerce Committee; or
- Incorporate Section 18’s damage prevention modernization provisions into any drinking water infrastructure, pipeline safety or utility infrastructure legislation considered by the committee.
Strengthening underground damage prevention policy is a practical, bipartisan step that protects the environment, advances public safety, safeguards critical water systems and reduces costs for communities nationwide.
DPAC and our member organizations stand ready to provide technical expertise, data and stakeholder coordination to assist the committee in advancing these objectives.
Thank you for your leadership in examining the challenges and opportunities facing the nation’s water, sewer and underground utility infrastructure.
Sincerely,
Sarah K. Magruder Lyle
Executive Director, Damage Prevention Action Center
[1] Damage Prevention Action Center members: https://damagepreventionactioncenter.com/members/
[2] https://energycommerce.house.gov/events/environment-subcommittee-from-source-to-tap-a-hearing-to-examine-challenges-and-opportunities-for-safe-reliable-and-affordable-drinking-water
[3] See Sec. 18 Excavation Damager Prevention: https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr5301/BILLS-119hr5301ih.pdf#page=41
[4] The PIPES Act of 2025 was reported out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on September 17, 2025, and awaits further action in the House Energy and Commerce Committee: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5301.
[5] Data from the Common Ground Alliance, a non-profit organization leading efforts to reduce damages to underground utilities in North America through shared responsibility among all stakeholders. Visit www.commongroundalliance.com.
[6] Specifically, strengthening state damage prevention programs will support enforcement, training and compliance improvements tied to effective one-call laws, awareness and use of 811 before you dig. (https://811beforeyoudig.com), limit municipal and utility-specific exemptions, improve utility locate accuracy and ensure utilities are locatable after installation.
[7] Specifically, Section 18 of the PIPES Act directs the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s state damage prevention grant program (https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/grants/pipeline/state-damage-prevention-grants) to incentivize states to adopt leading practices and “meaningful enforcement of State one-call laws” that will help reduce excavation damages to pipeline infrastructure and other vital underground utilities. These leading practices include limiting exemptions to state damage prevention laws; requiring positive response before excavation; requiring newly installed underground facilities to be locatable; and requiring the marking of sewer lines and laterals. See the Common Ground Alliance’s 2024 DIRT Report, Recommendations for Breaking Through the Damage Prevention Plateau, which confirms that enforcement of state damage prevention laws is essential to reduce dig-ins to buried infrastructure: https://dirt.commongroundalliance.com/2024-DIRT-Report/Recommendations-for-Breaking-Through-the-Damage-Prevention-Plateau