Verizon: Call Before You Dig

In a press release today, Verizon urges landowners to notify it when they modify their property.

[May 24, 2006]

Verizon Press Release:

Building a fence. Planting a tree. Replacing a mailbox. There are a lot of ways to cut buried phone lines. But only one way to avoid them: Call before you dig.

It happens every spring when the weather turns warmer. Contractors and landscapers start digging and discover something unexpected—buried utility cable that their equipment has accidentally severed.

Cut cables usually mean that communications services are out in the neighborhood or even in a wide area, affecting thousands of homes and businesses.

This unpleasant surprise could be avoided if construction crews, landscapers and other outdoor enthusiasts dialed a toll-free hotline, 1-800-382-5544, before starting a project that involved digging of any kind.

The hotline, operated by the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service (IUPPS), enables callers to schedule a location request for buried telephone cables, wires and pipes. IUPPS will notify all utilities that have underground facilities in the area of the excavation. Callers will need the county and township names, as well as the street address and cross street, for IUPPS to properly process the locate request.

"Every year, area residents have their telephone service needlessly interrupted because someone didn't call before starting a construction project, even one as simple as digging a post hole for a mailbox," said Michael H. Millegan, president—Midwest region for Verizon Telecom Operations. "Remembering to 'call before you dig' is the surest and safest way to avoid damaging underground cables and interrupting telephone service.

"A severed cable can be costly to the person or company responsible for the damage, and even more hurtful to someone who needs to make an emergency call but can't because the phone line is cut," said Millegan.

Verizon advises customers and construction crews that under state law they must provide IUPPS with advance notice of at least two working days before beginning any household chore or commercial project that involves digging.

Anyone who fails to comply could be liable for repair costs, if any, or civil penalties.

Buried telephone cables frequently run along the shoulder of the road or along the edges of property. Cables that provide service to a specific residence or business often run directly through the lot.

— End