A construction industry-supported effort to improve safety on projects that require digging near underground utilities is getting buy-in from state lawmakers.
The underground utility bill , a big legislative priority of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, has made the cut in the final transportation policy conference committee report, said Laura Ziegler, AGC-Minnesota’s director of government affairs.
Citing information from the Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council, Ziegler said the industry saw more than 2,200 “unintentional hits” to underground utilities in 2021 alone. The bill addresses that in part by improving information-sharing, updating timelines for completing utility “locates,” and implementing statewide tracking of unintentional hits.
Ziegler said the bill updates a state statute that’s based on outdated technology and hasn’t seen significant changes in almost 40 years. Among other things, she said, the legislation would “improve the quality of mapped underground utilities by leveraging geospatial technology that didn’t exist when the statutes were written.”
“Safety is the number one goal of this legislation,” Ziegler added in an email. “The proposal improves underground utility locating, enhances project communication, and prioritizes worker and public safety during road and building construction projects.
“Modernizing the law now is vital as the state prepares for the wave of projects over the next several years following recent state and federal infrastructure investments, including significant broadband infrastructure deployment.”
Minnesota law requires diggers to notify Gopher State One Call at least two days before starting a?project, so utility companies can “mark the approximate location of potentially hazardous underground facilities,” according to the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety.
Gopher State One Call and the Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council recently partnered on the Minnesota Utilities Mapping Project , according to the Common Ground Alliance, an organization dedicated to “saving lives and preventing damage to North American underground infrastructure.”
On its website, the Common Ground Alliance says the project’s goal is to provide “real-time, ticket-level mapped visualizations to accredited designers, locators and excavators.”
The Alliance said in February 2023 that damage to buried infrastructure cost the U.S. $30 billion a year. At the time, the alliance announced a goal to reduce damage to underground utilities by 50% in five years.
“We must focus on taking damage prevention to the next level in order to keep our communities safe and connected to the utilities we depend on every day,” Josh Hinrichs, chair of CGA’s board and president of UtiliSource, said in a February 2023 press release
Ziegler said the underground utility bill’s author, Rep. Larry Kraft, DFL-St. Louis Park, worked closely with AGC and “dozens of interested groups and individuals” to reach agreement on changes to Chapter 216D, the “excavation notice system statute.”
The final language included input from the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety, utilities and service providers, “partner construction associations,” Gopher State One Call, local governments, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and local companies, Ziegler added.
The conference committee report, Ziegler said, received “unanimous support from the six conferees,” which included DFLers and Republicans. Next steps include final approval of the conference report from the House and the Senate and a signature from Gov. Tim Walz.
RELATED:
Minnesota contractors seek changes for safer digs
Sustainable: Quieter clean energy session likely for 2024
Bill could spur development with change to land use rules
Copyright © 2024 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.
Most Popular
Comments / 0