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Dig Alert and USA North report record ticket volumes and policy shifts as board weighs design‑ticket rules
Summary
Regional notification centers told the board 2025 brought record ticket volumes and an increase in renewals and auto no‑responses; Dig Alert announced it will stop manually sending no‑response tickets and described outreach and website updates, while staff and members discussed design tickets, renewals versus remarks, and homeowner exemptions.
Regional notification centers presented a data‑heavy update at the Feb. 29 California Underground Safety Board meeting, describing 2025 as a high‑volume year for 811 activity and recommending changes to improve clarity for excavators and operators.
James Wingate (USA North 811) and Amber (Miss) Diamond (Dig Alert) summarized 2025 statistics: ticket volumes increased markedly, with Dig Alert reporting more than a million tickets when auto no‑responses are included. Dig Alert stopped manually creating no‑response tickets as of Jan. 1, 2026 and is emphasizing auto‑generated codes and other ticket types to capture disagreements between excavators and operators. USA North reported renewal rates of about 41% in 2025 (renewal = excavator confirms original marks still visible) and a rise in renewals versus fresh remark requests, which staff said may indicate either that original marks remain adequate or that excavators avoid two‑business‑day remarks to prevent work stoppages.
Dig Alert announced a range of outreach and user‑experience improvements: a website refresh, embedded 811Pro resources, new registration flows for in‑person education sessions, and a 50th‑anniversary awareness campaign to boost “call before you dig” behavior. Board members discussed homeowner ticket rates (still a small percent), the potential to reconsider homeowner exemptions, and opportunities to use design tickets and planning‑stage coordination to reduce locator workload.
Stakeholders warned the board the technical implementation of new forecasting or workload‑threshold tools would be complex and costly; James Wingate argued that real‑time, geospatial thresholds and heat‑maps will require careful definition (grid approaches, county/city granularity) and investment. Dig Alert staff suggested alternatives—better code definitions, a dispute workflow, and targeted outreach—to improve clarity without large new systems. Forum participants agreed that clarifying EPR codes, standardizing practice across centers, and continuing stakeholder education should be near‑term priorities.
Why it matters: ticket volumes and how no‑responses are handled directly affect the timeliness and safety of locating underground facilities. The centers’ operational choices, combined with the board’s regulatory work under SB 254, will determine how design tickets, renewals, and workload‑threshold tools are integrated into California’s excavation‑safety framework.
Key quotes from the meeting:
"2025 was a big year for ticket volume ... Dig Alert set a record by doubling their ticket volume if you count the auto no‑responses." —James Wingate (USA North)
"Dig Alert as of January 1st has stopped sending no response tickets manually ... there are other remedies for tickets that excavators can use to communicate an issue." —Amber Diamond (Dig Alert)
What happens next: board staff will continue to review EPR code definitions, hold planned workshops (including Feb. 24), and share survey results that inform rulemaking for planning and design and for the locator workflow threshold required by SB 254.
