Commissioners proclaim April National Safe Digging Month; Texas 811 urges one-call before excavation

Bee County Commissioners Court approved a proclamation designating April 2025 as National Safe Digging Month and heard a presentation from local emergency planners and a Texas 811 representative about the state's one-call system.

David Cave, speaking on behalf of the Bee County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), introduced the delegation and said the LEPC works under the direction of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to meet applicable safety and environmental requirements. Cave asked the court to declare April as National Safe Digging Month to raise safety awareness for residents and construction personnel.

David Ferguson, regional damage prevention manager for Texas 811, told the court the one-call service is free and urged residents and contractors to request a locate ticket before digging. "You just call 811 or you go on to our website or our portal. You request a locate ticket," Ferguson said, describing the process and the subsequent notification to utility operators.

Ferguson provided figures to illustrate the system's scale: Texas 811 issues more than "4,000,000 tickets a year" and averages about "19,000 to 21,000 tickets a day in Texas," he said, adding that those numbers indicate the public is increasingly using the service.

He explained that Class A underground facility operators (gas, electric, fiber) are required to participate in the one-call system and are required to respond within a 48-hour waiting period (excluding weekends and holidays). Ferguson noted that Class B operators (primarily water and sewer) are not currently mandatory participants in the one-call system in Texas and that legislation to require their participation has been introduced at the state level.

Ferguson and LEPC members stressed practical tips for residents: call 811 before landscaping or building projects, confirm which operators were notified on the locate ticket, and watch for colored flags or paint marking underground facilities. He also described real incidents where striking buried lines led to explosions and serious injuries, underscoring the safety rationale for the program.

The commissioners voted to approve the proclamation; the court then posed for a group photograph with the delegation.

Why it matters: Calling 811 before digging is a safety measure intended to prevent strikes of buried utilities that can cause injury, property damage and environmental harm. The proclamation formalizes a countywide awareness effort and gives county staff and partner agencies a focal point for public outreach during April.