Underground Safety Board recommends education, fines for multiple excavation violations

The Underground Safety Board on April 19, 2025, found violations in a series of excavation-related cases and recommended mandatory completion of the board's education course in each case, and in several cases recommended monetary penalties to be forwarded to the Contractors State License Board.

The board's actions followed staff investigations into incidents that included excavations without an 8-1-1 ticket, failures to call emergency services after hitting natural gas facilities and failures to notify the regional notification center within required time windows. Board members said the measures were intended to reinforce safety practices and prompt better compliance with existing law.

Board members adopted enforcement recommendations case-by-case. In each matter the board first voted that the record showed a violation, then considered corrective action. Where the board recommended a civil penalty it referred the monetary recommendation to the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and required the respondent to complete the Underground Safety Board's education course.

Votes at a glance (selected items):

- WJ Landscape Maintenance (investigation D231510004): The board found violations including excavating without first contacting the regional notification center and failing to notify emergency services after damaging a subsurface gas facility. The board voted to recommend mandatory completion of the board education course and a $1,000 fine be forwarded to the Contractors…