H. Res. 1278 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
May 5, 2010. 
Whereas each year there are over 200,000 incidences of unin-
tentional damage to underground utility infrastructure 
(including pipelines, electrical, telecommunications, water, 
and sewer lines), many as a result of an individual who 
fails to have underground utilities lines located before 
digging; 
Whereas there are 2,534,000 miles of pipelines, of which 
2,036,800 are for distribution of natural gas, 323,600 for 
transmission of natural gas, and 173,500 for hazardous 
materials including oil; 
Whereas some utility lines are buried only a few inches un-
derground, making them easy to strike even during shal-
low digging projects; 
Whereas failure to locate underground utility lines before 
digging may have unintended consequences such as serv-
ice interruption, environmental damage, property dam-
age, personal injury, and even death; 
Whereas State one-call notification programs allow home-
owners and excavators to have underground utilities lo-
cated and marked before conducting digging or exca-
vation activities;
•HRES 1278 EH 
Whereas Congress first established minimum standards for 
State one-call notification programs and authorized ap-
propriations for Federal grants to improve State one-call 
notification programs in the Transportation Equity Act 
for the 21st Century in 1998; 
Whereas Congress required a 3-digit, nationwide toll-free 
number be established to be used by State one-call sys-
tems in the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002; 
Whereas in 2005, ‘‘811’’ was designated as the nationwide 
one-call number for homeowners and excavators to call 
before conducting digging or excavation activities; 
Whereas in the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, 
and Safety Act of 2006 Congress authorized the Sec-
retary of Transportation to issue civil penalties to any 
owner or operator of a pipeline facility who fails to re-
spond to a request to mark an underground pipeline fa-
cility, any individual who fails to use a State’s one-call 
system prior to digging or excavation activities, or any in-
dividual who disregards location information or markings 
while digging or excavating; 
Whereas the one-call system has helped reduce the number 
of digging damages caused by failure to locate under-
ground utilities prior to digging from 57 percent in 2004 
to 37.5 percent in 2009; 
Whereas the 1,400 members of the Common Ground Alli-
ance, who are dedicated to ensuring public safety, envi-
ronmental protection, and the integrity of services by pro-
moting effective damage prevention practices, promote 
the national ‘‘Call Before You Dig’’ campaign to increase 
public awareness about the importance of calling 811 to 
identify the exact location of underground utility lines;
•HRES 1278 EH 
Whereas the Common Ground Alliance has designated April 
as National Safe Digging month in order to increase 
awareness of safe digging practices across the country 
and to celebrate the anniversary of the designation of 
811 as the national ‘‘Call Before You Dig’’ number; and 
Whereas April is the beginning of the peak of excavation 
projects around the Nation: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 
the goals and ideals of National Safe Digging Month, and en-
courages all homeowners and excavators throughout the coun-
try to call 811 before conducting any digging or excavation 
activities. 
Attest: 
Clerk.