NAPUA Launches During Dig Safe Month
Addressing the private property gap in ground disturbance safety and accountability.
Bridging the Lifecycle Gap in Utility Safety on Private Property
Most ground disturbance projects proceed without a Subsurface Utility Engineering study. When that occurs, risk does not disappear. It shifts downstream to contractors and private locators operating immediately before ground disturbance begins.
Subsurface Utility Engineering manages underground risk during design. Public locate systems provide publicly owned utility locates prior to ground disturbance. Private locating operates at the highest exposure phase, often without coordinated utility records and under compressed timelines.
In these scenarios, private locators verify public locates, review available records, perform field detection, document limitations, and assign risk levels before buried utility infrastructure can be physically contacted. Yet this operational lane has historically lacked unified standards.
The NAPUA Life Cycle Model of Ground Disturbance formally defines this lane. It integrates SUE, public locates, private property locates, and alternate provider programs into a structured lifecycle framework. The model establishes how risk is identified, classified, documented, communicated, and assigned before ground disturbance begins.
NAPUA exists to formalize private locating standards, clarify responsibility for asset owners, and bring governance structure to the most exposed phase of any project.
Learn more about the NAPUA Life Cycle Model and why private locating requires national standards.
Safety First
Preventing damage through education
Collaboration
Bringing private utility stakeholders together for shared solutions
Best Practices
Establishing industry best practices, guidelines and certification standards
Support NAPUA's Mission
Sponsorship enables independent standards development, cross-industry collaboration, and risk reduction for private property ground disturbance