Fergus Falls, MN –As we gear up for spring construction, yard work, and planting, Otter Tail Power Company reminds its customers and neighbors that, before digging, they need to notify utilities that have lines or cables buried in the area.
Every digging project—rural or urban, large
or small—requires a call to the national 811 One Call center at least
48 hours before any excavation begins. That means calling no later than
Wednesday for a weekend project. Dial 811 and you’ll be connected to
your state’s One Call center, which will notify the appropriate utility
companies. Be prepared to give the location and start time of your
project. Professional locators will mark the approximate locations of
underground lines with flags and/or paint.
The 811
call and the utility locates are free. Digging into a line, on the
other hand, can cause injury, and you may incur repair costs and fines.
Unsafe digging also can compromise community safety and disconnect
people from critical services. Damaging underground utility lines,
though unintentional, can cause needless outages to the utilities whose
service and convenience you enjoy. In addition to electricity, those
services also can include water and sewer, cable TV, telephone, and
high-speed Internet.
Each state has its own rules
and regulations, but all projects that involve digging more than a foot
deep require a call to 811. Or you may contact your state’s One Call
center:
Minnesota – 800-252-1166 or www.gopherstateonecall.org
North Dakota – 800-795-0555 or www.ndonecall.com
South Dakota – 800-781-7474 or www.sdonecall.com
“Utility
line depths can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous
digging projects, and uneven surfaces so, even when digging only a few
inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line exists,” says
Otter Tail Power Company’s Safety Services Manager Eric Hamm. “Always
call before you plant trees or shrubs, establish a new garden, begin
tiling a field, bury a water line, install that flag pole or mailbox,
erect a fence, dig a trench, create a water pond, or dig footings for
your new garage, deck, or patio. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s the
law.”
This news release is posted on our web site: https://www.otpco.com/NewsInformation/NewsReleases/Pages/default.aspx.
Otter
Tail Power Company, a subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ
Global Select Market: OTTR), is headquartered in Fergus Falls,
Minnesota. It provides electricity and energy services to more than a
quarter million people in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. To
learn more about Otter Tail Power Company visit www.otpco.com. To learn more about Otter Tail Corporation visit www.ottertail.com.
