WALL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is reminding homeowners and contractors – whoever is going to dig – to call 811 at least three business days prior to excavating to ensure all public underground utilities are properly marked. It’s FREE and it’s the LAW.

Careless digging can result in the disruption of vital services, property damage, repair costs, fines and even injuries. According to the Common Ground Alliance, every nine minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811.

Dialing 811 will connect you to New Jersey One Call, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of your intent to dig. Professional locators will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate locations of underground utilities with flags, paint or both. Yellow indicates a natural gas line.

“With spring here, and home and business owners eager to start outdoor projects, we strongly encourage everyone to call 811, no matter the size of the project,” said Craig Lynch, senior vice president of energy delivery, at New Jersey Natural Gas. “Most importantly, by calling 811, homeowners and professionals are helping keep themselves and their communities safe.”

During National Safe Digging Month, and throughout the year, NJNG encourages homeowners to take the following steps before beginning to dig:

• Always call 811 at least three, but not more than 10, business days prior to the start of digging, regardless of the depth of the dig or your familiarity with the property.
• Before digging, confirm the markout has taken place. Yellow indicates the presence of underground natural gas lines.
• Respect all markings. Take a photo of the markout because inclement weather may wash away painted markings. Maintain the markouts until no longer necessary and move the location of your project if it is near utility line markings.
• Dig with care – hand dig within two feet of the outer wall of the underground facility.

For more information about 811 and safe digging practices, visit nj1-call.org or the My Safety section of njng.com. In the event of damage to a natural gas pipeline immediately call 911 followed by a call to NJNG at 800-GAS-LEAK (427-5325).

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that, through its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses:

• New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates and maintains over 7,400 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve over half a million customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris, Middlesex and Burlington counties.
• NJR Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar and onshore wind projects with a total capacity of more than 300 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.
• NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across North America.
• NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its 50 percent equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage facility and its stake in Dominion Midstream Partners, L.P., as well as its 20 percent equity interest in the PennEast Pipeline Project.
• NJR Home Services provides service contracts as well as heating, central air conditioning, water heaters, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes throughout New Jersey.

NJR and its more than 1,000 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve^® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project^® and The Sunlight Advantage^®.

For more information about NJR:

Visit www.njresources.com.

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“Like” us on facebook.com/NewJerseyNaturalGas.

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