On March 14, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) sponsored a public forum on state one-call exemptions in West Palm Beach, Fla. which followed the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) conference. The purpose of the forum was to discuss the requirements of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 relating to exemptions in state one-call programs and actions taken to date. In addition, damage prevention stakeholders discussed existing data relating to this topic and presented perspectives during panel discussions.

Presentations and panelists from industry representatives included: Colorado 811, the Virginia State Corporation Commission, American Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, Common Ground Alliance (CGA), New York State Department of Public Service, and many others.

There was a recurring theme of the need for better data and examples were given of exemptions directly resulting in 3rd party damages. It was discussed that data analysis may be needed, but it is complex, and that the PHMSA incident report should ask more about One Call tickets and exemptions.

PHMSA has identified 10 states that have the potential for losing eligibility for some grants: One call grants and state damage prevention program grants. It was debated if exemptions should be a state issue because there are different practices in different states. The notion of exemptions contradicts the overall statement that we should always call before we dig.

There was a short overview on CGA best practices which are updated every year. Version 10.0 can be downloaded from the CGA website.

The online webcast, meeting transcript and presentations are available on the PHMSA website.