04 Jun June 4, 2026, Hearing – Where Are We?: Examining Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Capabilities in the United States
The Honorable Brett Guthrie
Chairman
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 Richard Hudson
Chairman
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Doris Matsui
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives
Dear Chairman Guthrie, Ranking Member Pallone, Chairman Hudson and Ranking Member Matsui,
On behalf of the Damage Prevention Action Center (DPAct), I am writing in connection with today’s hearing to ask the Committee to consider the critical importance of GIS mapping as it relates to preventing damage to critical underground infrastructure. DPAct is a coalition of energy, utility, construction and infrastructure stakeholders whose mission is to advocate for public policies and industry practices that protect underground utility infrastructure and those who work and live near these vital assets.[1]
OVERVIEW: Excavation-Related Damages to Buried Infrastructure Are Increasing
According to data compiled by the Common Ground Alliance, excavation damage remains one of the leading causes of infrastructure service disruptions nationwide, resulting in hundreds of thousands of reported dig-ins annually spanning all utility sectors. Furthermore, third-party utility strikes cost the U.S. economy over $30 billion each year.[2]
CGA’s 2024 DIRT Report highlights that excavation-related damages to buried utilities are moving in the wrong direction. The CGA Index — which tracks year-over-year damage trends — continues to rise, reflecting the rise in construction, infrastructure investments and ultimately, increasing damages to underground utilities and pipelines. Nearly 200,000 unique damage incidents were reported, and an underground utility is struck on average once every three minutes in the U.S. Each incident carries a wide range of consequences from service and economic interruptions to injuries and fatalities.
Compounding this challenge, excavators face an average 38% chance of being unable to start work on time due to incomplete locate responses. When the 811 process is unpredictable, excavator confidence erodes — potentially contributing to the leading root cause of damage: failure to notify 811 before digging.
Accurate maps of underground infrastructure are the foundation of the damage prevention process. When facility records are incomplete or inaccessible, even the most diligent locators and excavators are working against the odds. Improving mapping accuracy and expanding access to facility records aren’t peripheral concerns; they are central to reducing damages attributed to locate failures and are vital to restoring confidence in the 811 process at every level.
CHALLENGE: The Mapping Gap
According to CGA’s DIRT Report, failure to locate accurately and on time was the root cause attributed to 34% of damages to underground utilities. CGA’s Locator White Paper and the findings of the Next Practices Initiative reveal that improving the accuracy of facility maps and implementing electronic whitelining would help locators complete their work more quickly and accurately. Records of underground utilities are often inaccurate or incomplete and are largely unavailable to damage prevention stakeholders like designers, locators and excavators. Advancing underground utility mapping and enabling appropriate accessibility to damage prevention stakeholders has the potential to significantly reduce damages and increase the efficiency of the safe excavation process nationwide.
Additionally, excavators continue to emphasize the importance of greater access to mapping records. The results of a 2024 national survey of excavators conducted by CGA revealed that 89% of professional excavators believe that having access to utility maps would reduce excavation damage.
OPPORTUNITY: Improved Facility Mapping Records
Although there is still a gap in mapping record accuracy and availability, many stakeholders are implementing programs and initiatives to improve their mapping records. Featured in CGA’s Leadership in Mapping video series, Jerry Schmitz, VP of Safety & Quality for Southwest Gas, describes his company’s commitment to using maps as the foundation for its asset management and damage prevention efforts. Consumer’s Energy implemented a program to map its own natural gas distribution pipelines in addition to sewer facilities in close proximity to those assets.
In California, Senate Bill 865 (SB 865), introduced and passed in 2020, took the improvement of mapping records further by requiring that new installations be mapped using GIS. The legislation aims to enhance safe excavation practices in the state by requiring all new subsurface installations as of January 1, 2023, to be mapped using a GIS except for specific oil and gas flowlines within oil fields.
Increased availability and accessibility of GPS-enabled locating devices is also providing the industry with greater opportunities to effectively map facilities.
UtiliSource, a Missouri-based utility design, engineering and project management company, rolled out a program to record the location of all third-party locates throughout a fiber installation project. They will then be able to utilize this mapping record as they continue to do work in the same area, improving future project efficiency and safety.
Gopher State One Call’s GPS-enabled locator program in Minnesota partners with locating technology providers to equip damage prevention stakeholders across the state with utility line locators integrated with RTK GNSS accuracy and GPS collection capabilities. This program has been particularly beneficial to small municipalities, for whom updating legacy paper maps can be prohibitively time-consuming and expensive.
CONCLUSION: Accurate, reliable, and resilient GPS capability is central to mapping underground utilities, which is essential for protecting that infrastructure from excavation damage
We applaud the Committee for highlighting the important role that mapping plays in protecting our nation’s critical infrastructure. Improved subterranean utility mapping can significantly reduce costly and dangerous dig-ins to buried infrastructure, enhance the current 811 process, and focus the industry on taking damage prevention to the next level. These advancements are essential to keeping our communities safe and connected to the utilities we depend on every day.
Sincerely,
Sarah K. Magruder Lyle
Executive Director
Damage Prevention Action Center
[1] Damage Prevention Action Center members: https://damagepreventionactioncenter.com/members/
[2] 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.