By calling 811, farmers can work safely near pipelines

Early spring is a good time to find farmers out in the fields, tilling the soil and making preparations for the coming growing season. As a matter of safety, especially during National Safe Digging Month, those in agriculture, construction and homeowners are reminded that excavation damage remains one of the leading causes of serious pipeline accidents.

Karen Norene Mills, California Farm Bureau Federation associate counsel and director of public utilities, said it is important for farmers to be aware of the "Call Before You Dig" program to prevent accidents and avoid problems by first calling 811.

"Farmers and ranchers often serve as guardians for important utility infrastructure throughout California—both above and below the ground. The presence of overhead power lines or underground pipelines imposes obligations on farmers and ranchers—and can bring dangers, too," Mills said. "Appropriate education is a key element in making the program effective, and owners of the infrastructure should be conducting extensive outreach about that infrastructure to assure safe practices."

Farmers who plan to excavate—defined as any operation in which earth, rock or other material in the ground is moved, removed or otherwise displaced in any way by tools, equipment or explosives—must call 811 to be connected to a "one-call center." The center administers a free service for receiving excavation reports and transmitting them to participating utilities that have underground facilities in the excavation area, so they can mark the locations before the work begins.

Many farmers are aware that activities such as irrigation system installation, deep ripping and orchard planting or removal trigger the need to call for marking. But the law also invokes a need to call before many other activities.

"We want to make sure, first of all, that all of our agricultural customers are safe. We also want to make sure that they recognize when they are doing things—augering, scraping, tunneling, ditching, ripping and tilling—it is a good best practice to contact 811," said Joe Horak, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. agriculture and food processing segment manager. "As farmers start moving through fields and doing farm-related soil work, we want to make sure our agricultural customers are well aware of the process and how important it is to contact 811."

Natural gas transmission pipelines appear to pose the greatest risk of injury and damage. These are larger-diameter lines that operate at a higher pressure compared to distribution pipelines that deliver gas directly to the end user. But other types of infrastructure may be lying in wait underground, Mills noted, including oil pipelines, water lines, telecommunications lines or electrical lines, though underground electrical lines are not common in rural areas.

Line markers and warning signs indicate the approximate location along the pipeline route. Markers will identify the materials carried underground, the name and contact information for the pipeline operator. But markers aren't indestructible, so just because a marker isn't present doesn't mean there's not a pipeline below. Also, the markers provide only the general location; the line may not follow a straight path between markers, Mills said. Serious accidents have occurred because the markers didn't indicate a turn or angle in a line.

"Most disconcerting is that there is currently no mandate to maintain up-to-date information about the depth of underground lines," she said. "Although lines are installed to required depths, information on line depths is not refreshed on any regular basis."

If there is an incident and the infrastructure is damaged, an excavator can face civil penalties of $10,000 for negligence, up to $50,000 for willful damage—in addition to any other remedies allowed by law, Mills said. Such liability could occur if an excavator fails to comply with applicable laws and procedures, resulting in damage caused by that failure.

"If there is an incident and there hasn't been a call to 811, it's a safety issue first, and secondly, it could be a financial issue too," Horak said.

When taking on any type of excavation, agricultural customers should:

• Call 811 days prior to digging.
• Give the operator information about how to contact you, where you are planning to dig and what type of work you will be doing.

Utility companies with potential facilities in the area of the dig site will be notified about your intent to dig and each affected utility company will send a locator to mark the approximate location of the underground utility lines.

PG&E utility customers who have additional questions or concerns about their request for service, should contact any of the utility's "Locate and Mark" personnel. Learn more about the 811 program at call811.com.

(Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)

One-call centers

DigAlert: www.digalert.org—This organization covers Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

USA North: www.usanorth.org—This organization covers all other California counties not listed above.

Utility websites

Pacific Gas and Electric Co.—www.pge.com/en/safety/systemworks/gas/transmissionpipelines/index.page; www.pge.com/pipeline/about/system_maps/statemap/index.page

Sacramento Municipal Utility District—www.smud.org/en/residential/education-safety/natural-gas-pipelines/natural-gas-pipeline-map.htm

San Diego Gas and Electric Co.—www.sdge.com/safety/gas-safety/natural-gas-safety-map

Southern California Gas Co.—www.socalgas.com/stay-safe/pipeline-and-storage-safety/natural-gas-pipeline-map

National Pipeline Safety website—www.pipelinesafetyinfo.com/national_pipeline_mapping

Information on how to mark infrastructure—www.usanorth.org/USAColorBrochure.pdf