Illinois Valley Times

In an April 10 Facebook post, Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) shared that it's National Safe Digging Month.

“April is National Safe Digging Month,” he posted. “Thanks to the Whiteside County Farm Bureau for the reminder to call or click before you dig.”

811 is a national phone number that is used to request locations of buried utility lines before digging begins.

“Whether you’re landscaping your yard, building a deck, or installing a mailbox at your home, it’s absolutely essential to call 811 before any excavation project,” U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a release. “Just remembering to take that step could save your life – and help keep your neighbors, your community, and our environment safe.”

In his Facebook post, Spain shared an April 3 Facebook post from Whiteside County Farm Bureau. It read: "Striking a single underground utility line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Dial 811 or visit JULIE’s website: http://illinois1call.com"

The Common Ground Alliance reported the U.S. saw approximately 532,000 excavation-related incidents of damage in 2019.

The JULIE website notes that: "Nationwide, more than 49.3 million Americans will put themselves, their families and their communities at risk by not contacting their local 811 Center before digging. As Illinois’ FREE notification service to prevent underground utility line damages, JULIE is dedicated to keeping homeowners, landscapers, contractors, professional excavators … and the entire community …safe."

“A majority of pipelines and other utilities in the United States run underground,” Tristan Brown, The U.S. DOT Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration deputy administrator, said in a release. “Far too often, we see the tragic results to people and property when people fail to call 811.”

JULIE offers five steps to safe digging in a Youtube video. 1. Pre-mark the area with white paint or stakes. 2. Call 811 to notify utilities of your intent to dig, up to 14 days before you dig. 3. Wait the required amount of time that it takes for area utilities to determine whether they have lines where you’re proposing a dig. 4. Respect the marks. Do not remove flags until each utility notifies you whether they have utilities in the area where you plan to dig. 5. Dig with care.

Spain has represented the 73rd District since 2017. Before serving in the state legislature, Spain was elected to the Peoria City Council as the youngest at-large member in Peoria history, a seat he held until fall of 2016. He is currently employed at OSF Healthcare System as the vice president of Economic Development.