General (38)
Susana Barrios
From:Stephanie Mercadante <burglin.stephanie@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 5, 2026 6:31 PM
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] On Behalf of Tom Felder, District 1, Councilmember Ryan Balius
Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message.
For public comment on May 5, 2026:
Good evening, Mayor and Council Members,
I want to address a serious public safety issue tied to California’s “Call Before You Dig” law under
Government Code Section 4216.
This law exists to prevent catastrophic incidents—gas line strikes, explosions, and injuries to both
workers and residents.
There are credible concerns that excavation work has been directed without valid dig tickets or without
proper verification of underground utilities.
That raises a basic operational question:
What system is in place to ensure compliance before excavation even begins?
Because this should not rely on individual judgment in the field. There should be:
Verification requirements
Documented clearance
And a clear, auditable record before any digging starts, including routine audits
And this is not theoretical.
There has been at least one instance where the gas company identified a project that was not
authorized to dig and required the area to be re-dug to confirm no damage occurred.
That should never happen if proper controls are in place.
There are also concerns about projects being sent out without adequate staffing levels and without
appropriate safety equipment, which further increases risk in an already high-hazard environment.
So I’m asking the City:
How are dig tickets tracked and verified in real time?
What prevents work from proceeding without valid 811 clearance?
How are projects evaluated to ensure they are properly staffed and equipped before work begins?
And where is the documentation showing these safeguards are consistently followed?
Because if compliance is working, there should be a clear, auditable record.
And you should be asking for those records immediately.
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