811 Day is an annual initiative led by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to ensure the practice of safe digging is echoed in communities by calling 8-1-1, a nationwide toll-free number, before any excavation project.

As an agency committed to safety and protecting the nation's 3.3 million miles of pipeline, PHMSA recognizes the importance of damage prevention and seeks to eliminate excavation damage, which remains the leading cause of pipeline incidents.

Calling 811 or visiting www.call811.com, has proven to be the foremost preventive measure in excavation safety and damage prevention. Research has revealed that if someone calls 8-1-1 before they dig, they have a 99 percent chance of avoiding an incident, injury, harm to the environment and even death.

In addition to 811 Day, PHMSA has partnered with several organizations including the National Energy Foundation (NEF), and the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) to develop several community outreach efforts and public awareness campaigns including: the 811 video and poster contests for elementary, middle, and high school students as well as social media and digital campaigns for National Safe Digging and National Safety Months.

Further, the agency has awarded One-Call grant awards for state damage prevention and published Congressional publications including "A Study on Improving Damage Prevention Technology."

For more information and resources pertaining to 811, please see below:

• Interview: PHMSA Administrator Howard "Skip" Elliott on Safe Digging and the Importance of Calling 8-1-1
• 811 Toolkit
• Damage Prevention in Your State
• State Incident Trends and Performance Metrics
• Pipeline Stakeholder Communications