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NUCA Recognizes April as “Safe Digging Month”
NUCA Members to Take Their Case to Capitol Hill
Safety Training Takes off in Colorado
NUCA Recognizes April as “Safe Digging Month”
 Spring is finally here and so is National Safe Digging Month! With the snow melted and the ground ready for lots of excavation, whether by commercial excavators or homeowners working in their gardens, NUCA and the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) remind excavators of all stripes to call 811, the national call-before-you-dig number, before you reach for that shovel to ensure that buried utility lines in the area of excavation are marked.
The CGA and its 1,400 members, including NUCA, recognize April as National Safe Digging Month. National Safe Digging Month was designated to remind all excavators that America’s underground infrastructure is made up of a complex network of pipelines, wires and cables. Striking an underground utility line while digging can cause harm to excavators and those around them, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and potentially result in fines and repair costs.
A call must be placed to 811 before every digging project, from installation of a large water treatment facility to simple landscaping projects like planting trees or shrubs, to building a deck or installing a rural mailbox. Failure to call before digging results in more than 200,000 unintentional hits annually across the nation. Don’t become part of the statistic — make sure to call!
Damage prevention is a shared responsibility, and CGA works hard to promote that. Excavators are often frustrated with facility operators who don’t fulfill their responsibility by locating and marking their facilities. The truth is all stakeholders must meet their responsibilities, and excavators that follow the abovementioned steps are doing their part. NUCA encourages our chapters and members to help promote April as National Safe Digging Month.
NUCA Members to Take Their Case
to Capitol Hill
An important part of the utility construction industry’s big picture is the body of laws and regulations governing it. As many NUCA members discover each year, you can have an impact on that legislation at the federal level simply by attending NUCA’s Washington Summit and visiting your states lawmakers on Capitol Hill armed with a thorough briefing by experts and a comprehensive handbook of talking points. Be sure to read Eben Wyman’s Inside Washington (p. 32) this month to review the key legislative issues on the docket this year and the schedule (p. 38) for the event. This year’s summit is at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, May 17-19. Call (800) 233-1234 before April 23 to secure your room. You can register online at www.nuca.com. See you in May.
Safety Training Takes off in Colorado
 Separate classes in English and Spanish kicked off NUCA of Colorado’s safety training programs earlier this year. Bilingual instructor Damon Speyer of Western Summit Constructors, in Denver, led the eight-hour classes for 60 students in NUCA Competent Person Training on two consecutive Saturdays in Henderson, Colo., at the Scott Contracting training center. For more information about NUCA’s Competent Person and Confined Space Entry Safety Training Programs or to locate an instructor in your area, visit www.nuca.com or call (800) 662-6822.
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