In support and recognition of National Safe Digging Month, April, 2010.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of House Resolution 1278, a resolution expressing support of the goals and ideals of National Safe Digging Month.

I introduced this resolution to encourage people to call 811, the nationwide Call Before You Dig number, before conducting any digging or excavating activities and to help draw attention to the problem of excavators and homeowners unintentionally damaging underground utilities.

Throughout the month of April, U.S. Department of Transportation, State utility regulators, and damage prevention stakeholders such as the Common Ground Alliance took part in public awareness campaigns to alert people of the dangers of not having underground utilities located before digging.

Each year more than 256,000 utility lines are unintentionally damaged during excavation activities resulting in fatalities, injuries, loss of utility service, and environmental damage. Many of these unintentional strikes could have been easily avoided if somebody had dialed 811 and had all of the underground utility lines in the area marked.

When a homeowner or contractor calls 811, he is connected to a call center that works with all of the local utility companies to have any underground utilities in the vicinity of the project located and marked. Many utilities, such as cable and telephone lines, are buried only a few inches underground, so even a project that involves only a shallow digging can result in damage to a utility line.

Every weekend, hundreds of homeowners lose cable or telephone service because they unintentionally cut a line while putting in a new mailbox or planting a new tree. While loss of cable or telephone service can be inconvenient, unintentionally striking an underground pipeline or electrical line can be deadly. There are more than 2 million miles of pipelines and more than 1 million of underground electric lines in the United States. These utilities are usually buried deeper than telecommunication lines, but they can be easily struck during road construction and home improvement projects.

Spring marks the beginning of the construction season and the time of year when most homeowners are taking on home improvement and landscaping projects. As contractors and homeowners move forward with their projects, it is important that they remember to call 811 and have underground utilities located before they begin any activity that involves digging or excavating.

Since I will be home this weekend planting trees in my yard, I have called my family, and I hope they have made the call to 811. So if my son, Garrett, is listening to me, make sure you dial 811 before I get home so when we plant the trees this weekend, we are doing all of the right things. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1278, to recognize April as National Safe Digging Month. The Common Ground Alliance, an association dedicated to ensuring public safety, environmental protection, and the integrity of services by promoting effective damage prevention practices, has designated April as National Safe Digging Month in order to increase awareness of safe digging practices across the country. This resolution also celebrates the anniversary of the designation of 811 as the national `Call Before You Dig' number.

I would like to recognize Congressman Shuster for his hard work authoring this resolution and bringing it to the Floor. The United States has over 2,500,000 miles of pipelines, of which 2,200,000 are for distribution of natural gas, 320,500 for transmission of natural gas, and 168,900 for hazardous materials including oil. Unfortunately, each year there are over 200,000 incidences of unintentional damage to underground utility infrastructure (including pipelines, electrical, telecommunications, water, and sewer lines). Many of these incidents are a result of an individual who fails to have underground utilities lines located before digging, as some utility lines are buried only a few inches underground.

To prevent these accidents, Congress required a 3-digit, nationwide toll-free number be established to be used by State one-call systems in the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002. These one-call notification programs allow homeowners and excavators to have underground utilities located and marked before conducting digging or excavation activities. I am pleased to say that the one-call system has helped reduce the number of digging damage caused by failure to locate underground utilities prior to digging from 57 percent in 2004 to 37.5 percent in 2009. And as April is the beginning of the peak of excavation projects around the Nation, I am pleased to join Congressman Shuster and the Common Ground Alliance in raising awareness about this topic.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me in supporting H. Res. 1278.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1278) in support and recognition of National Safe Digging Month, April, 2010, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 1278.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1278, a resolution to designate the month of April as National Safe Digging Month. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, PHMSA, along with many States and stakeholders across the Nation, have come together to support this designation. If approved, it will also mark the 3-year anniversary of 811 as the national ``Call Before You Dig'' telephone number.

This year, throughout the entire month of April, PHMSA is encouraging all homeowners and contractors to call 811 before they dig to prevent fatalities, injuries, environmental dangers, and other possible loss of critical infrastructure and services. According to PHMSA, excavation damage continues to be a leading cause of serious pipeline incidents. In fact, each year there are hundreds of thousands of underground utility lines damaged through excavation in the United States, 35 percent of which occur as a direct result of people not calling before digging.

According to PHMSA, the one-call notification system has helped reduce the percentage of excavation damages caused by failure to locate underground utilities prior to digging, from 57 percent in 2004 to 35 percent in 2009. Clearly, these numbers speak for themselves. Indeed, it is extremely important to call 811, the Call Before You Dig line, and it is such an easy way for individuals and companies to save lives, the environment, our Nation's infrastructure, and even save money and investments. I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1278, introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), which expresses support and recognizes April as National Safe Digging Month. H. Res. 1278 also celebrates the third anniversary of 8-1-1, the nationwide telephone number that all homeowners and contractors must use before conducting digging or excavation activities.

According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), excavation damage continues to be a leading cause of serious pipeline incidents. More than 256,000 underground utility lines are damaged during excavation each year in the United States; 35 percent of those incidents are due to homeowners and contractors not calling 8-1-1 before they dig.

We created this one-call notification system in 2002 in the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (P.L. 107-355), which directed the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Communications Commission to establish a three-digit, nationwide toll-free telephone number for excavators to call to dispatch companies that operate underground utilities in the area to mark the exact location of their utilities. This helps excavators avoid hitting the utilities when digging and any fatalities, injuries, environmental damage, or loss to critical infrastructure and services that could occur.

According to PHMSA, 8-1-1 has helped reduce the number of excavation damages caused by failure to locate underground utilities prior to digging from 57 percent in 2004 to 35 percent in 2009.