Page 6 - Mississippi 811 Magazine 2020 Issue 1

State Enfo TCGI I Iel It AidS
ByMmhaeIDoM/ries
8HMagazlne.-1

any states across the tounlry have heeled
up their nndergrnnnd darnage prevenlion
, _ . laws in the last tew years hy adding training
\\ -5 ‘I _ Th V requilrelfninls and filnes {pr repe§t violalors.
fix, _ i 0 epnrnary gna D t esenew aws is Io re nee
1., ., . . . 2 g .
Q‘ g . . U. . damages and lteep zxcavalcirs and the pnhhe sate.
’ -:4 uh \\ .2 v -- . . . . . .
* -. ' in July aots. Mississippi senate El1l2755 went mu) efieet
. _ ‘ .'-=. and it added harsher pttnishrnents lo the state's existing
. , . _ ‘ I . Dig Law: which is teehnieally known as the Regulation
, . " " : or Excavations Near Underground utility Facilities.
V , . .
. . ‘ ‘.,.< ' , \\ '_ ‘ 532755 allows (or penalties ranging trdrn $500 to
.-A‘ - ‘r , . .. sands [or repeat oF[ent‘l2rs, but this fine may he tvaived
-6 _ .> \\‘ _ ‘-‘H . -\\~. s:..-_. [or firsk and seenndtirne violators. irthey partieipate in
, .- '. J . ‘ ‘ _ education and training.
- ‘ ~_ .- \\ 4 we recznlly spnlte tvith a Kinder Morgan employee with
9. , _ knowledgz of the prnress of reporting a violalion lo the
. ' - ‘ state. The individual asked Io rentain anonymous and
a ‘ . ‘ ~ did not reveal the name at the violator, in order to use
. O ' the expariente Io edttrate the ptthlir in a tvay that will
. ' not einhan-ass anyone.
, \\ ‘ Kinder Morgan, and many ollwer nndergrennd facilily
. - ownzrs and operators, require a company representative
». . to he on site anytirne an exravatdr is planning to dig
«' 9 within 10 (eet or their pipeline. lidtvever. the only tvay
- _* they know that work is heing planned is if they are
— ; , 7 V , ndtiiied throngh the states one rall renter.
‘ O.‘ _ - it the excavator [ails to make the rail, they pnt
. . a F .‘ themselves — and the communily — at risk.
' ' - '. "' ' The enrnpany rnnsiders it an unauthorized
1!! ,V i enrrnarhrnent when the excavalor either did nol conlacl
7 - - I ‘ ,. 3 st. or did ngt wait 43 hours pxigr lo diggingd— whether
a ’,«, ,«, _ .t ‘ 3- or not any arnage was repnrte drdrenn-e .
,‘ ' .0 -. ' - ' , “There: a rnisrnnreptidn that our pipelines are hnried
'- . J» ’ , 4 , . . very deep or are rnade dlintpervinns steel.’ the
-. In-i,~' L4’ ernplnyee said. wve have edneated firsl responders
.~‘- , if _*_ . t aernss the state that itsdrnenne rnrnes in enntart with
, , , . .r‘ ,,r « ' , the pipeline at all. it needs In he insperted. we have
: ' -1‘, '1‘_ _- ‘ ‘_ , preresses (tnalingsj on the pipeline Io prevent cozrosion.
, ll it gets srraped. you rnay nol see datnage now. hat it
,[ . ' may happen years later."
r_ 4 A‘
All pipeline enrnpanies are required hy the lederal
gnvernrnent lo monilnr their pipeline righIs—of—way. The
industry nses a enrnhinatinn of lntvllying airrratt and
at l ram «mi ATIUN RF?-:-r-wlrszts hDDlS'Dll'(l1€'g!‘C|HlldICI look for any signs of distnrhanee
or issues inrlnding rerently tnrned earth.
4. Mlsslsslpnlfill 2020 Issue)