Rep. Ellis at Summit: “I learned the value of Mississippi 811″
Source: Mississippi 811 Magazine
Representative Tyrone Ellis was one of the authors of the recently passed legislation requiring all owners/operators of underground facilities to be a member of Mississippi 811. His passion for protecting Mississippi’s critical infrastructure and commitment to the safety of all citizens made his presentation the highlight of the first annual damage prevention Summit.
Representative Ellis has almost 30 years experience in the legislature and serves on many committees and currently is Chairman of the House Public Utilities Committee. He shared a great story about learning the importance of underground utility lines from a personal episode in his life. His church was expanding, and in order to accomplish the project, a small hill had to be cut down. Before that could happen, there were underground lines that required relocating. Representative Ellis said, “I’m grateful that Mississippi 811 was so available. Although we were unable to get our contractor to undertake moving the lines, we were able to complete the project by getting the phone company to move them. Had we cut those lines, long distance from Meridian to Oxford would have been shut down. Mississippi 811 was able to coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders to the successful completion of the project. I learned the value of Mississippi 811 in that one incident.”
Representative Ellis later stated that “a stronger and more effective damage prevention program is really a Homeland Security issue. Protecting Mississippi’s infrastructure is critical to the state.” He said that, “though the new Information Technology Building is being built to withstand potential damaging forces of nature, protecting the infrastructure feeding such critical services is vital to our security, communication, and economy.”
He continued by stating, “Damage prevention is not just about digging anymore; it’s a public safety issue. We need to spread the word.” Representative Ellis also indicated that our counties and municipalities need to be more aware that failure to develop a stronger and effective damage prevention program can and likely will affect funding from federal agencies in the future.
In closing, Representative Ellis reminded all Summit attendees that they had a damage prevention advocate in the House and encouraged the audience to get their fellow citizens involved in this very important task of protecting Mississippi’s critical infrastructure.
