Oklahoma Natural Gas Safe Digging

You can become a dig hero! Always call 811 before starting any project near a natural gas pipeline. You can start digging after the project has been deemed safe by experts and your project area has been marked.

Who Should Call 811?

If you are planning to do any digging, then you should definitely call 811 prior to beginning your project. Consulting this free service can prevent future injuries and outages. It is important to identify and mark any underground utility lines, prior to digging the area around it, so that there are no injuries or outages.

Any project that can potentially disturb the ground surrounding an underground utility line- from planting a tree to erecting a fence- should first be reported to 811, at least 48 hours before it begins, so that proper safety checks can be carried out. The number, 811, can be contacted any day except holidays, weekends and day of notification.

Oklahoma 811 System- OKIE 811

You can call 811 from anywhere in Oklahoma. Your request will then be rerouted to Okie 811, thereby notifying owners of pipelines, telecommunication lines and power cables. The owners can then proceed to mark their assets within the next 48 hours, excluding the day of notification, weekends, and holidays. Those who make the request are not charged anything extra for demanding this service.

ONG-Safe-Digging

You can even submit a ticket to Okie 811 by dialling the above-mentioned number from your phone, or visiting their website at http://www.okie811.org/

It generally does not take more than 5 minutes for requests to process, however, you must call at least 48 hours before starting your project, excluding the day of notification, weekends, and holidays, to give companies ample time to mark their assets.

What Happens After I Call 811?

  • The Okie 811 network notifies operators who have underground assets near your proposed area of excavation. The operators range from natural gas and utilities owners to communication companies, towns, and cities.
  • Once notified, operators or their subcontractors are expected to flag or paint the areas where their assets are buried. They will also inform you in case they have no assets present in the area.
  • Your task is to ensure that your ticket has been updated, marking all assets, before beginning your excavation.
  • The lines are color coded, as shown in the picture, making it easy to identify the type of underground line present near the area of excavation.

Head over to official site to access a complete list of state laws and instructions concerning web-based ticket requests.

It’s All About Your Safety

If you are planning any landscaping project in an area that has a natural gas meter, you are advised to keep at least a three feet radius from the meter clear. This should be done because the roots of the growing tree or shrubbery can exert force on your meter, leading to damage to the gas pipeline facilities.

Additionally, if you find any contractor not using the Okie 811 system report them and help us to enforce safety laws. All contractors are required to contact 811 prior to starting the excavation project. In case your contractor has started digging before proper flags have been placed marking the pipelines, ask them to cease their work and call 811.

It is necessary to take this step, otherwise, you might end up incurring a risk to your safety and damaging your property, such as natural gas, water, electricity, or communication facilities.

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