Don’t let a digging accident diminish volunteer efforts
Dover, De (April 17, 2009) — Chesapeake Utilities is hoping that the local communities join the Company in planting trees for Earth Day and Arbor Day projects next week. The Company encourages residents to call 811 at least 48 hours ahead of time to have underground utility lines marked before digging begins.
In support of these events, Chesapeake employees will be actively planting trees within its local communities and the Company is giving away seedlings at its Queen Street, Dover and Beaver Run, Salisbury operations centers.
“We’re strongly encouraging individuals and companies to call 811 before they start digging, because we want to make sure their volunteer efforts have only positive effects on the environment,” said Richard Cleveland, Manager of System Integrity. “By having underground lines marked, volunteers are reducing the risk of striking a line and can focus on their environmental contributions.”
Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Volunteers are responsible for having lines marked, regardless of whether they are planting a sapling or a full-grown tree.
When calling 811, homeowners are connected to Miss Utility, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of the intent to dig. Professional locators are sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags or spray paint. Once lines have been properly marked, digging can begin around the marked lines.
“Earth Day and Arbor Day are great opportunities for Chesapeake Utilities and the local communities to give back to the environment by planting a tree or doing other outdoor beautification projects, but it’s imperative to call 811 before you start,” said Jeff Tietbohl, Director of Natural Gas Distribution “Failure to call 811 before digging results in more than 200,000 unintentional hits annually across the country, so please call 811 before all digging projects.”
Visit www.call811.com for more state information about 811 and the call-before-you-dig process.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Company Contact:
Shane Breakie, President
Chesapeake Emergency Energy Recipient Program (CHEERP)
Chesapeake Utilities
350 South Queen Street
Dover, DE 19904
Ph: 302.734. 6797, ext. 6017
[email protected]
Chesapeake Utilities Office Locations:
Beaver Run Office
32145 Beaver Run Drive
Salisbury, MD ,21804
Queen Street Office
350 Queen Street
Dover, DE 19904
