WHEREAS pursuant to the Gas Safety Regulation, BC Reg. 1032004, under the Safety Standards Act, SBC 2003 c.39, a gas utility company has the option of indicating the location of buried gas lines by way of a plan provided to the local government rather than marking out the location on site; AND WHEREAS the installation methods for buried natural gas lines in many instances result in deflection from the intended alignment, with the result that plans provided by the major natural gas utility in the province are not conducive to accurate location of gas lines in the field; AND WHEREAS the consequences of a gas line rupture can be extremely serious for residents, businesses and local government employees: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province be asked to amend the Gas Safety Regulation to require the gas utility company to attend on site to mark out buried gas line locations in connection with excavation work.
MINISTRY OF FORESTS RANGE, MINSTER RESPONSIBLE FOR HOUSING The safety of people and the protection of property is our primary concern. The BC One Call system is in place to assist excavators in locating underground gas lines. Of the 1,500 gas lines hit per year in the Province of British Columbia, few are associated with poor mapping or information from the utility. We are continuously reviewing regulations around underground gas lines and, as a member of the Common Ground Alliance, we have ongoing discussions with gas companies and builders to ensure worker and public safety. Once we have received a copy of the Common Ground Alliances best practices guide we will review it and carefully consider any recommendations.
TERASEN I am aware of the policy resolution that was passed at the September 2007 UBCM Convention. Terasen Gas takes the issue of public, customer and employee safety very seriously. It is for this reason that our Line Locate policy is identical and consistent with the field practices of all other major utilities in British Columbia. The process of locating our underground facilities mirrors that of BC Hydro, Telus, cable companies and municipal sewer and water operators. A safe excavation practice around our facilities starts with obtaining underground gas line information. This information is available and can be obtained by calling BC One Call - a free service. All major utilities and numerous municipalities are active and registered members of BC One Call. Most recent statistics prove that over 74 of all utility line hits are because people failed to obtain the underground line locations from BC One Call. A further 16 of line hits occur as a result of unsafe excavation practices, namely a failure to manually expose the pipes or cables. 9 are caused by vehicle accidents, house fires or natural events such as storms, floods, or landslides. Across North America, the excavator has always been held responsible for locating gas and utility services. The same holds true in British Columbia where this responsibility has never changed. Our practice of surface marking was recently discontinued in our Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast service territory for two principle reasons: - make our line locate practice consistent with all other major utilities in the province - make our process identical for all regions in which we have underground facilities the Vancouver IslandSunshine Coast practice differed with the rest of the Province as gas service was only introduced to the region in 1990 Incident reviews confirm the priority for BC One Call communication and proper excavator processes, including the requirement to hand expose in-ground facilities. Contractors in the Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast region have acknowledged and embraced the minor change in field practice surface making this past year. With our offers to educate, train and provide in-field location assistance where clarity is requested, municipalities in the region have a full appreciation of their responsibility for safe excavation practice and understand the process. Our commitment to safe excavation awareness is further demonstrated by our partnership with the Common Ground Alliance as we are investing in the delivery of contractor excavation training sessions across the province. Each participant derives a clear understanding of their workplace responsibilities and an appreciation for best practices. Our safe excavation policy and the process in BC is supported and acknowledged by WorkSafe BC and the BC Safety Authority. Terasen is taking the UBCM approved resolution very seriously. As a result, we will be making the following recommendations to the Minister of Energy, Mines and petroleum resources, the Ministry of Community Service, the BC Safety Authority and WorkSafe BC: - That ALL BC Municipalities be required to join BC One Call - More stringent penalties be levied on those who choose to ignore acknowledged safe excavation practices