Stakeholder Communications

We provide grant funding to our State Partners to improve communication among excavators and owners of underground facilities. The PIPES Act of 2006 also authorizes grants to State authorities, designated by the Governor, to create or augment effective State damage prevention programs.

Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996 Grants

Since 1996, we have awarded One-Call Grants to our State Pipeline Safety Partners to promote damage prevention, including changes with their state underground damage prevention laws, related compliance activities, training, and public education. The One–Call Grants were reauthorized in 2002 & 2006 and the grant program is on-going.

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) Grants

Under TEA-21, Congress authorized PHMSA to award Pipeline Safety Damage Prevention Grants to help States implement best practices in preventing damage to underground utilities and improve the overall quality and effectiveness of One-Call notification systems. We awarded $6 million in 2001 and 2003 to State agencies to fund a wide range of education efforts, communications system improvements, and enforcement of State requirements for damage prevention.

Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006 (PIPES) Grants

The PIPES Act authorizes PHMSA to award State Damage Prevention Program Grants to fund improvements in State programs. PHMSA is in the process of awarding these grants during 2008. States are encouraged to implement the following nine elements of an effective damage prevention program:

1. Participation by operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of methods for establishing and maintaining effective communications between stakeholders from receipt of an excavation notification until successful completion of the excavation, as appropriate.
2. A process for fostering and ensuring the support and partnership of stakeholders, including excavators, operators, locators, designers, and local government in all phases of the program.
3. A process for reviewing the adequacy of a pipeline operator’s internal performance measures regarding persons performing locating services and quality assurance programs.
4. Participation by operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of effective employee training programs to ensure that operators, the one-call center, the enforcing agency, and the excavators have partnered to design and implement training for the employees of operators, excavators, and locators.
5. A process for fostering and ensuring active participation by all stakeholders in public education for damage prevention activities.
6. A process for resolving disputes that defines the State authority’s role as a partner and facilitator to resolve issues.
7. Enforcement of State damage prevention laws and regulations for all aspects of the damage prevention process, including public education, and the use of civil penalties for violations assessable by the appropriate State authority.
8. A process for fostering and promoting the use, by all appropriate stakeholders, of improving technologies that may enhance communications, underground pipeline locating capability, and gathering and analyzing information about the accuracy and effectiveness of locating programs.
9. A process for review and analysis of the effectiveness of each program element, including a means for implementing improvements identified by such program reviews.