New Jersey Natural Gas Encourages Customers to Always Call 811 Before You Dig

This April Marks the Tenth Annual National Safe Digging Month

WALL, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is reminding homeowners and contractors –
whoever is going to dig – to call 811 at least three business days prior
to excavating to ensure all public underground utilities are properly
marked. It’s FREE and it’s the LAW.

Careless digging can result in the disruption of vital services,
property damage, repair costs, fines and even injuries. According to the
Common Ground Alliance, every nine minutes an underground utility line
is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811.

Dialing 811 will connect you to New Jersey One Call, which notifies the
appropriate utility companies of your intent to dig. Professional
locators will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate locations
of underground utilities with flags, paint or both. Yellow indicates a
natural gas line.

“With spring here, and home and business owners eager to start outdoor
projects, we strongly encourage everyone to call 811, no matter the size
of the project,” said Craig Lynch, senior vice president of energy
delivery, at New Jersey Natural Gas. “Most importantly, by calling 811,
homeowners and professionals are helping keep themselves and their
communities safe.”

During National Safe Digging Month, and throughout the year, NJNG
encourages homeowners to take the following steps before beginning to
dig:

  • Always call 811 at least three, but not more than 10, business days
    prior to the start of digging, regardless of the depth of the dig or
    your familiarity with the property.
  • Before digging, confirm the markout has taken place. Yellow indicates
    the presence of underground natural gas lines.
  • Respect all markings. Take a photo of the markout because inclement
    weather may wash away painted markings. Maintain the markouts until no
    longer necessary and move the location of your project if it is near
    utility line markings.
  • Dig with care – hand dig within two feet of the outer wall of the
    underground facility.

For more information about 811 and safe digging practices, visit nj1-call.org
or the My
Safety section of njng.com
. In the event of damage to a natural gas
pipeline immediately call 911 followed by a call to NJNG at 800-GAS-LEAK
(427-5325).

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that,
through its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and
clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset
management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses:

  • New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates
    and maintains over 7,400 miles of natural gas transportation and
    distribution infrastructure to serve over half a million customers in
    New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris, Middlesex and
    Burlington counties.
  • NJR Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar
    and onshore wind projects with a total capacity of more than 300
    megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with
    low-carbon solutions.
  • NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural
    gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural
    gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across
    North America.
  • NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and
    producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its
    50 percent equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage
    facility and its stake in Dominion Midstream Partners, L.P., as well
    as its 20 percent equity interest in the PennEast Pipeline Project.
  • NJR Home Services provides service contracts as well as
    heating, central air conditioning, water heaters, standby generators,
    solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential
    homes throughout New Jersey.

NJR and its more than 1,000 employees are committed to helping customers
save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging
efficiency through Conserve to Preserve® and initiatives such
as The SAVEGREEN Project® and The Sunlight Advantage®.

For more information about NJR:
Visit www.njresources.com.
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@NJNaturalGas
.
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Contacts

New Jersey Resources
Michael Kinney, 732-938-1031
[email protected]