Governor Stein Proclaims Safe Digging Month

Safe Digging Month

2026

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, the State of North Carolina encourages people to contact the North Carolina 811 Center to locate underground lines prior to digging; and 

Whereas, each year, North Carolina underground utility infrastructure is jeopardized by unintentional damage done by those who fail to contact 811 before digging, causing service interruption, damage to the environment, personal injury, and even death; and 

Whereas, by calling 811 to request utility line location, individuals throughout our state can help to reduce damage to and improve the efficiency of 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 providing education about safe digging practices and by establishing a convenient means of communication between the excavating public and member utilities; and 

Whereas, excavators and individuals can save time and money by contacting 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 and contact 811 before every dig, every time for safer and stronger communities across our state;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as “Safe Digging Month” in North Carolina and commend its observance to all residents.

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 seventeenth day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-sixth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.