Attorney General Tim Griffin files suit against northwest Arkansas construction company citing underground pipeline damage

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has filed a lawsuit against a company accused of breaking underground pipelines.

Griffin’s office filed a suit against Ground Zero Construction, Inc. of northwest Arkansas and its owner Rod Garman. Griffin said the company has “repeatedly damaged natural gas lines because it refuses to comply with the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act.”

The suit lists six instances of Ground Zero allegedly damaging an underground pipeline from April 2021 to April 2023.

The attorney general said the company had not called One Call Center at 811 as required before excavation. He said the law also prohibits using mechanized equipment near underground facilities without express approval as Ground Zero has done.

Griffin said the AUFDP Act is intended to limit damage to natural gas pipelines and other underground facilities. The law also protects the public from harm, he said.

The case was filed in Benton County Circuit Court on Thursday afternoon.

from KARK https://ift.tt/8xKHw9e