Policy Positions
Policy + Resources
Key Action Messages
Key Takeaways
Social Media Content
News Coverage
Policy Positions
The Damage Prevention Action Center’s policy focus areas are data-driven recommendations for modernizing U.S. damage prevention.
Our positions are based on the data, research and analysis produced by the Common Ground Alliance.
- Effective, balanced enforcement for all stakeholders will drive behavior change.
- Removing special-interest exemptions for 811 notifications will reduce damages.
- Incentivize facility owner/operators to provide distributed real-time mapping and geospatial data to 811 centers in a timely fashion.
- Mandating reporting of all facility damages to the 811 center will provide additional information about how and why damages occur.
- Ensure laws allow effective implementation of Best Practices.
Key Action Messages
Contact 811 every time, before every dig, no matter how small – it’s free and should be done a few business days in advance.
Professional contractors should maintain safe excavation practices, like test holing to confirm the location of buried utilities and not using mechanized equipment near buried utilities.
Before digging, confirm that all utilities have responded to your 811 request – never begin excavation if the site has not been marked by professional locators.
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Hundreds of times each day across the U.S., critical underground utility lines on which our communities depend are damaged through digging by contractors and homeowners – that’s hundreds of daily opportunities each day for fatalities, injuries, and disruption of business and community operations. (Click here and navigate to “DIRT EXPLORER” to look at damages in your state.)
- Damages like these already cost communities across the country $30 billion annually, and represent a massive amount of public and private resources spent not only repairing utilities and restoring utility service, but also covering property damage, medical bills, and loss of commerce while businesses are interrupted or evacuated.
- The infrastructure boom is bringing unprecedented levels of excavation to communities across the country – engage with local damage prevention stakeholders NOW to prevent these projects from creating catastrophes in your state.
- 77 percent of damage occurs from just three common mistakes, including failing to contact 811 before digging, failing to mark underground utilities accurately or on time, and failing to pothole or maintain adequate clearance from underground utilities when digging.
- 56 percent of homeowners who plan to undertake home improvement projects this year won’t call 811 beforehand – that’s 26.9 million Americans putting themselves and their community at risk.
- Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is the only national non-profit association dedicated to protecting underground utilities, people who dig near them, and their communities.
- CGA announced an ambitious new “50 in 5” challenge of reducing damages by 50 percent in the next 5 years.
- Preventing damage takes everyone working together – utilities, excavators, locators, contractors, homeowners, and local leaders.
Key Action Messages
- Contact 811 every time, before every dig, no matter how small – it’s free and should be done a few business days in advance.
- Professional contractors should maintain safe excavation practices, like test holing to confirm the location of buried utilities and not using mechanized equipment near buried utilities.
- Before digging, confirm that all utilities have responded to your 811 request – never begin excavation if the site has not been marked by professional locators.
Hundreds of times each day across the U.S., critical underground utility lines on which our communities depend are damaged through digging by contractors and homeowners – that’s hundreds of daily opportunities each day for fatalities, injuries, and disruption of business and community operations. (Click here and navigate to “DIRT EXPLORER” to look at damages in your state.)
Damages like these already cost communities across the country $30 billion annually, and represent a massive amount of public and private resources spent not only repairing utilities and restoring utility service, but also covering property damage, medical bills, and loss of commerce while businesses are interrupted or evacuated.
The infrastructure boom is bringing unprecedented levels of excavation to communities across the country – engage with local damage prevention stakeholders NOW to prevent these projects from creating catastrophes in your state.
77 percent of damage occurs from just three common mistakes, including failing to contact 811 before digging, failing to mark underground utilities accurately or on time, and failing to pothole or maintain adequate clearance from underground utilities when digging.
56 percent of homeowners who plan to undertake home improvement projects this year won’t call 811 beforehand – that’s 26.9 million Americans putting themselves and their community at risk.
Social Media Content
Below is a suggested social media post for use on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your constituent newsletters/communications. Please be sure to tag @CGAConnect (on Twitter) and [Common Ground Alliance] (on LinkedIn).
Social Media Messages
Did you know underground utility lines are damaged by digging hundreds of times each day in the U.S.? That’s according to the Common Ground Alliance, which is working to prevent damage to the underground infrastructure we all rely on. Make sure to contact 811 before every dig, every time! www.811beforeyoudig.com
Did you know underground utility lines are damaged by digging hundreds of times each day in the U.S.? That’s according to the [@Common Ground Alliance], which is working to prevent damage to the underground infrastructure we all rely on. Make sure to contact 811 before every dig, every time! #811beforeyoudig www.811beforeyoudig.com
Twitter/X
Did you know underground utility lines are damaged by digging hundreds of times each day in the U.S.? That’s according to @CGAConnect, which is working to prevent damage to buried infrastructure. Contact 811 before every dig, every time! www.811beforeyoudig.com
this is where we are going to do a full library of posts of validator videos no pages