(DENVER) — The Division of Oil and Public Safety (OPS) at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) announced the recipients of two grant awards from the Damage Prevention Fund today. The Division’s Underground Damage Prevention Safety Commission oversees the fund and selected Colorado 811 and Colorado Springs Utilities for educational programming to prevent underground facility damage, keeping Colorado communities safe.
Colorado 811 was awarded $15,000 to support the 2025 Damage Prevention Summit & Expo. The two-day event will bring together excavators, locators, industry vendors, and utility owner-operators to deliver standardized education on damage prevention topics. Attendees will engage in hands-on learning sessions, live Q&A, a mock line strike and other collaborative content to reinforce the importance of teamwork and a shared understanding of Colorado's laws to prevent damages to underground utilities.
Colorado Springs Utilities was awarded $5,000 to create a Positive Response educational video that will be produced in both English and Spanish. The new educational video, similar to this one on general excavation safety, will explain what a positive response is, how the results help to visually identify active utilities and the importance of it being onsite and used properly.
“This is the first time the Safety Commission has awarded funds to community partners to develop and implement educational training or materials that promote safe digging practices, and we’re proud of the proposals submitted by our two awardees,” said OPS Division Director Mahesh Albuquerque. “We recognize all the great work Colorado 811 is already doing to protect our community, and we’re confident the 2025 Damage Prevention Summit & Expo will enhance its educational programming. We’re also eager to see the Colorado Springs Utilities Positive Response video and the impact it will have in avoiding preventable damage in the Pikes Peak region.”
Senate Bill 18-167 added the Safety Commission to the Excavation Requirements Law to enforce the law by reviewing complaints of alleged violations and developing best practices. The Safety Commission has been working diligently to accomplish these goals since they began their work in January 2019.
About the Division of Oil and Public Safety
The Division of Oil and Public Safety (OPS) is responsible for a variety of regulatory functions related to environmental and consumer protection and public safety. Program oversight includes amusement rides and devices, explosives use and storage, boilers, conveyances, fuel products, underground and above-ground petroleum storage tanks, cleanup of petroleum spills, reimbursement of cleanup costs to qualifying storage tank owners and operators, and administration of the oversight committee for underground facilities. The division’s oversight also includes the Underground Damage Prevention Safety Commission and Fund, which includes enforcement oversight for Colorado 811. The division is funded by cash funds and federal funding.
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