蒙大拿州地下管线每年被挖断500多起：年损失约5000万美元
蒙大拿公共电台 10 月 22 日报道，非营利行业组织 Common Ground Alliance 发布的最新报告显示，蒙大拿州地下埋设的电力、供水、互联网与天然气管线每年被挖断 500 多起，造成的损失约为每年 5000 万美元。事故后果轻则家庭断网，重则建筑物紧急疏散，甚至造成灾难性的人员伤亡。
该组织总裁兼首席执行官 Sarah Magruder Lyle 表示，房主也会犯错，但重大损坏多由挖掘方造成；这未必是挖掘方的过错，因为他们可能已按规定提交管线定位申请、一切照章办事，却仍会碰上测绘不准或根本不存在的地下管线图。她呼吁州与联邦公用事业监管机构堵住执法漏洞，并表示：「我们要的不是更多监管，而是有效监管，两者是有区别的。我们知道，当有具威慑力的法律和处罚在，损坏就会减少。」
报告发布时，蒙大拿州正值建设加速期，从自然资源与能源开发，到机场与交通走廊改造都在动工。该组织提醒房主与承包商，无论工程多小，挖掘前都应先联系 Montana 811，让专业人员定位并标出地下管线。（GSM 据蒙大拿公共电台报道）
Underground Utility Lines in Montana Are Hit More Than 500 Times a Year: Damage Costs About $50 Million Annually
Damage to buried power, water, internet and natural gas lines in Montana costs approximately $50 million every year and amounts to more than 500 incidents annually, according to a new report from the Common Ground Alliance, a nonprofit trade group working to prevent damage to underground utilities, Montana Public Radio reported on October 22. The consequences of a strike can range from a home internet outage to a building evacuation to catastrophic loss of life.
CGA President and CEO Sarah Magruder Lyle said homeowners cause some mistakes, but excavators are responsible for most major damage — though that does not necessarily mean it is their fault, since they may have properly submitted a locate request and done everything by the book, only to run into inaccurate or nonexistent underground utility mapping. She called on state and federal utility regulators to close enforcement gaps, saying the goal is not more regulation but effective regulation, and that damages fall when deterrent laws and penalties are in place.
The report comes as construction accelerates across Montana, from natural resource and energy development to airport and transportation corridor improvements. Homeowners and contractors are reminded to contact Montana 811 before any digging project, no matter how minor, to have buried utility lines located and marked. (GSM, based on Montana Public Radio reporting)
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0，作者 Mds08011；资料图：工作人员在街面标示地下管线位置，非蒙大拿州实拍 / Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, by Mds08011; file photo of a utility locator marking underground lines on a street, not taken in Montana
