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11 Plantation Road
DeBary, FL 32738
(386) 575-2000
| (800) 638-4097
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cheryl
Ritter, (954) 389-7328
Vigorous enforcement protects buried
lines, spawns controversy
DEBARY, Fla. – April 6, 2006 – Sunshine State One Call recently expanded
its enforcement program to cover 20 counties throughout Florida in an
effort to curb utility outages due to underground facility damages,
prevent injuries as a result of these damages, and ensure compliance
with Chapter 556, the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety
Act.
“SSOCOF’s damage
prevention efforts are all about decreasing damages and protecting
underground facilities that deliver vital services such as electric and
telephone to Florida’s residents on a daily basis,” explains Cheryl
Ritter, SSOCOF damage prevention manager. “Just think what could happen
if an excavator hit an underground high-pressure gas line, high-voltage
electric line or a line carrying 911 calls. And what about fiber optic
cables carrying information that could cost businesses hundreds of
thousands of dollars per second when outages occur as a result of
accidental damage.”
This is not just a local
problem. Nationwide, businesses and residents experience these types of
service outages; and this has Florida and many other states being
challenged to develop an effective enforcement program or run the risk
of facing federal mandates that would increase fines and penalties
issued to excavators.
Currently, a Florida
excavator without a valid locate ticket for projects involving digging
typically pays only $250; however, fines can be as much as $5,000 plus
lost revenues from jobsite shut downs. Shut downs can remain in effect
until the excavator has called (800) 432-4770 for a valid locate ticket
and waited two full business days.
“Having a valid locate
ticket involves a four-step process,” explains Ritter. “First you call
(800) 432-4770 before digging. Then you wait two full business days for
the owners of buried facilities to locate and mark their lines. When the
owners have either cleared the area or marked the site, digging can
begin, but those marks need to stay in place during the project and
that’s the third step. The last thing excavators need to do is dig
safely, especially if they are digging within 24 inches of the locate
marks.”
“When everyone follows
those four simple steps, accidental damages to buried facilities can be
prevented,” Ritter concluded.
Established in 2005,
SSOCOF’s enforcement program uses off-duty Florida Fish and Wildlife
Officers because they have full authority to enforce all Florida state
laws. However, any law enforcement officer can enforce Chapter 556.
SSOCOF’s officers patrol 20 counties including: Alachua, Bay, Brevard,
Broward, Duval, Franklin, Gulf, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Leon,
Martin, Okaloosa, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, Seminole, St. Lucie, Volusia
and Wakulla.
While patrolling,
officers conduct courtesy stops to see if excavators have valid locate
tickets. During these stops, SSOCOF has an excavator’s undivided
attention for education. Officers have been trained to provide basic
safety education on Chapter 556, stressing those four points. Excavators
who consistently violate Chapter 556 are issued citations.
So far, the program has
been extremely successful with more than 600 courtesy stops. But this
increased enforcement has some excavators crying foul. “It’s unfortunate
that our efforts to enforce this safety law are being viewed as unfair
or a form of harassment,” Ritter stated. “Our main concern is compliance
with the existing law to protect excavators and residents. Most
complaints are coming from excavators who were unaware of the law and
are now being asked to stop work, obtain a locate ticket and wait two
full business days for utilities to locate and mark their underground
facilities or notify the excavator of an all clear before beginning
excavation.”
With education as the
primary focus, word about SSOCOF’s enforcement efforts is spreading
across the state and requests for safety education classes have
increased. From The Villages alone, more than 300 construction companies
employing 3,000 are chomping at the bit to learn more about complying
with Chapter 556.
It should be noted that
many Florida excavators are calling and digging safely. Last year,
SSOCOF grew to become the largest one-call center in the United States
receiving more than 1.8 million requests from excavators in Florida.
SSOCOF is a one-call
notification center mandated by Chapter 556 to receive calls from
excavators and homeowners two full business days before digging. Based
on that call, SSOCOF produces a locate ticket which is sent to facility
owners with buried facilities close to the excavation site.
SSOCOF offers free
educational sessions to professional excavators and homeowners. For more
information on free classes and other SSOCOF services, visit
www.callsunshine.com.
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