PSC Holds Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Workshop

Casper - Call before you dig, it saves lives. The Wyoming Public Service Commission (PSC) and One-Call Wyoming held a second workshop at Casper College on May 1. Commissioner Kathleen “Cindy” Lewis, speaking to a crowd of 100 contractors, attorneys and governmental officials, stated, “It is vital to continue the discussions started in the fall on how to improve the current damage prevention processes to ensure public safety, limit property damage and reduce environmental impacts.” She hoped the workshop would provide a forum for critical review of the current One-Call laws.

“There are lessons to be learned from dig-ins that damage underground facilities,” Deputy Chairman Steve Oxley said today. “When you’re in too big of a hurry and don’t find what’s in the ground before you dig, you can kill people. The liability can be huge. Don’t start the job until the locate is done and you know what’s there.” Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen; Eric Nelsen, Deputy General Counsel for SourceGas Distribution, LLC; and, Steve Lofton, President of 71 Construction, encouraged locates be performed in a cautious manner and discussed the dig-in costs borne by utilities, municipalities and contractors.  

Russell Waldner, of Carbon Power & Light, Inc. and One-Call board member, stated the organization supports modification of the statutes to improve enforcement procedure related to violations of the One-Call statutes and urged stakeholders to join together to develop proposed legislation this coming summer. Please email your comments, suggestions or support to rwaldner@carbonpower.com.

Other speakers included Gavin Donnelly, Wyoming Office of Homeland Security; Gary Moss, RJM Company; Peter Katchmar, PHMSA; and, Khrysanne Kerr, Common Ground Alliance.

This free workshop was funded through a U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration grant.

Additional information, including presentation materials, will be available on the PSC's web site, http://psc.state.wy.us. Interested consumers also can contact the PSC at (307)777-7427 or One-Call of Wyoming at 811 or (800) 849-2476.

The Wyoming Public Service Commission is the state's regulatory agency overseeing utility rates and service. The PSC is based in Cheyenne and is comprised of three commissioners.