Governor Proclaims Safe Digging Month 2024

SAFE DIGGING MONTH

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina encourages people to call or click 811 to have underground lines located prior to digging; and

WHEREAS, each year, North Carolina’s underground utility infrastructure is jeopardized by unintentional damage done by those who failed to call 811 before digging, causing service interruption, damage to the environment, personal injury, and, in some cases, even death; and

WHEREAS, by calling the North Carolina 811 Center to request utility line location, individuals throughout our state can help to improve safety, reduce damages and protect our communities' infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina 811 Center performs a public service by offering free assistance to all businesses and residents in North Carolina through education about safe digging practices, and by providing a convenient means of communication between the excavating public and member utilities; and

WHEREAS, excavators and individuals can save time and money by calling or clicking 811 in advance of any project, waiting the required amount of time, respecting the marked lines by maintaining visual definition throughout the course of the excavation, and digging with care; and

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina joins the North Carolina 811 Center in encouraging all parties to know what's below, call or click 811 before you dig for safer and stronger communities across our state;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim April, 2024, as “SAFE DIGGING MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

                                                                           ________________________________________

                                                                                                           Roy Cooper

                                                                                                              Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this second day of April in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.