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News - Posted: January 25, 2007...
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811 Press Release:
Need to do some digging?
Order FCC 05-59, the Federal Communications Commission designated 811 as the national abbreviated dialing code to be used by state One Call notification systems for providing advanced notice of excavation activities to underground facility operators in compliance with the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002. A One Call notification system is a communication system established by operators of underground facilities and/or state governments in order to provide a means for professional excavators and the general public to notify facility operators in advance of their intent to engage in excavation activities.
April 13, 2007, Colorado will join the 811 club; the law establishes the use by state contact centers to handle excavation requests. You may know these by the popular slogan “Call before you dig”. By simply dialing 811 toll-free, excavators will reach an operator who can process your request to locate underground facilities and thus keep people safe and protect the infrastructure. The center processing these calls is the Utility Notification Center of Colorado, established in 1986.
Calls are answered from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, with emergency and damages calls handled all other times. This national 811 campaign is directed at making it more citizen-friendly, and it's a move that should both improve communication and help anyone planning to dig with an easy number to remember.
Here's how it works. UNCC employs 811 operators - 39 are now on staff - will process information about the calls received (Name, phone number, address, area of excavation, description of intended work, etc). They then determine what facility operators own underground facilities in your excavation area and in turn transmit electronically that information to them. The facility owner and operator is then required to mark facilities with the appropriate color. The color code is as follows: Red = Electricity, Yellow = Gas, Orange = Communications, Blue = Water, Green = Sewer, Purple = Reclaimed Water, White = Pre-marking excavation area.
The 811 service offers a simple way to gain information about the location of underground facilities or report emergencies and damages to underground facilities and where assistance is needed when problems arises that require immediate assistance.
Sounds like a good thing for everyone.
For more information you can contact UNCC at 1-800-833-9417 or
www.uncc.org
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