Attorney General Curtis Hill has filed suit in Hamilton County courts against five out-of-state excavation contractors that performed work in that county without obtaining certifications of authority to conduct business in Indiana from the Secretary of State.

Over the summer, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s Pipeline Safety Division agreed at the request of the cities of Carmel and Fishers to investigate 20 instances of damage to underground natural gas lines. As part of its review of those incidents, investigators learned of six separate excavation contractors installing fiber optic cable on behalf of CMN-RUS, Inc., which does business as MetroNet.

Five of those six companies, it turned out, failed to obtain the required certifications of authority. They are: Crosier Lane Consulting, Inc.(Illinois); Internattional, Inc. (Michigan); Nexgen Directional, LLC (Illinois); RC Underground, LLC (Florida); and RLM Underground, LLC (Kansas).

To ensure compliance with the law, the Office of Attorney General filed suit against the five companies on Oct. 16, asking the court to award a civil penalty in each case up to the maximum $10,000.

Copies of the file-stamped complaints are attached.

Incidentally, investigators found 10 of the 20 instances of damage to underground natural gas lines to be the fault of excavators. This action by the Office of the Attorney General, however, relates only to the licensing status of the excavating entities and not to any specific instances causing damage to pipelines. For more information about the IURC Pipeline Safety Division’s investigations, go to: http://www.in.gov/iurc/2335.htm