Springtime is here and many property owners and professional contractors are taking advantage of the warm weather to undertake landscaping and outdoor projects that require digging or excavating. Chattanooga Gas urges landowners and contractors to dial the new toll-free "Call Before You Dig" hotline, 8-1-1, before beginning a project.

"Exercising caution when digging around gas lines is important in maintaining safe and reliable gas service," said Steve Lindsey, vice president of Chattanooga Gas. "Locating underground gas lines is a service Chattanooga Gas provides free of charge to residents and businesses."

Dialing 8-1-1 will connect callers to the Tennessee damage prevention center. This quick and efficient one call center notifies the appropriate local utilities, which then send locators or locate technicians to the requested site to mark the approximate location of underground lines. Chattanooga Gas will mark the surface locations of buried natural gas service lines at the job site, which helps prevent liability for damage and fines.

According to Lindsey, it is important for residents and contractors to call before beginning any outdoor project. "Safety is good business and even small, do-it-yourself jobs like planting a tree and installing a mailbox should be marked to prevent possible injury and costly damage," he continued.

Created to eliminate the confusion of multiple "Call Before You Dig" numbers across the country and to be an easy-to-remember resource, 8-1-1 will make it easier for everyone to call before attempting any digging project. The 8-1-1 number was designated by the FCC in 2005 at the direction of an Act of Congress in 2002 and was officially launched Tuesday, May 1, on the National Mall in Washington, DC by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA). CGA is a member-driven association of nearly 1,400 individuals, organizations and sponsors in every facet of the underground utility industry.

For more information about the 8-1-1 service, campaign, and a new national survey on consumer digging habits, visit www.call811.com.

About Chattanooga Gas

Chattanooga Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources , provides retail natural gas sales and transportation services to approximately 61,000 customers in Hamilton and Bradley counties in southeast Tennessee. The Chattanooga Gas service area includes the communities of Chattanooga, Cleveland, Red Bank, East Ridge, Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain. For more information, please see www.chattanoogagas.com.

About AGL Resources

AGL Resources , an Atlanta-based energy services company, serves more than 2.2 million customers in six states. The company also owns Houston-based Sequent Energy Management, an asset manager serving natural gas wholesale customers throughout the nation. As a 70 percent owner in the SouthStar partnership, AGL Resources markets natural gas to consumers in Georgia under the Georgia Natural Gas brand. The company also owns and operates Jefferson Island Storage & Hub, a high-deliverability natural gas storage facility near the Henry Hub in Louisiana. For more information, visit www.aglresources.com.

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SOURCE: Chattanooga Gas