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2017 Q5 Issue Articles

APWA Utilities and Public Rights-of-Way Committee: Working to Eliminate Utility Damage
The Utilities and Public Rights-of-Way Committee (UPROW) is one of APWA’s busiest technical committees. UPROW provides education and information to help raise awareness of utility

Inspecting a Natural Gas Pipeline with a Robotic Crawler
A natural gas pipeline belonging to a major North American pipeline company was buried under an urban area and needed to be inspected for integrity.

DCA Welcomes New Study on Technologies and Practices to Improve Facility Locating
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently released a study that evaluates technologies and practices that help improve damage prevention. The Distribution Contractors
Chicago Embarks on New Underground Mapping Project
Cnet – The city of Chicago was incorporated in 1837 and the underground network of pipes is so complex, and the records are so outdated
Irth Solutions Acquires Bytronics
Columbus, Ohio – irth Solutions, a provider of field service management solutions to the utility, energy and telecom industries, recently announced that it has acquired

Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Project Gets Permits
Pipeline News – A company building a $3 billion pipeline to carry natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to several southern states has been granted the
Hurricane Harvey Damages Refineries in Texas
Washington Post – Hurricane Harvey damaged two ExxonMobil refineries, causing the release of hazardous pollutants. ExxonMobil acknowledged the damages in a filing with the Texas

PelicanCorp Partners with CCFA
Trenchless Australia – PelicanCorp recently entered into a partnership with the Civil Contractors Federation Australia (CCFA) to mutually support the promotion of safer civil construction
West Virginia American Water Acquires Queen Shoals PSD
Charleston, West Virginia – West Virginia American Water announced in August that it had completed its acquisition of the Queen Shoals Public Service District (QSPSD)

PHMSA AWARDS Nearly $1.3M in One Call Grants for State Damage Prevention Programs
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently announced it has awarded nearly $1.3 million in One Call

5th Annual CCGA Damage Prevention Symposium: Looking Ahead to Prevent Damage to Underground Infrastructure in Canada
Every year, ground disturbers, utilities providers and equipment suppliers meet at the Canadian Common Ground Alliance’s (CCGA) national Damage Prevention Symposium to participate in Canada’s
Fuel Pipeline Rupture in New Zealand Causes Jet Fuel Crises
Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and the main gateway for air travelers. More than five million international passengers arrived through Auckland Airport

2017 Greater Chesapeake Damage Prevention Training Conference Recap
For the ninth year, hundreds of facility operators, locators, excavators, regulators, engineers and other professionals who work near underground facilities gathered in Ocean City, Maryland

Balloon Fiesta 2017
Approximately 900,000 people attended the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico this past October. This nine-day event played host to the 811 Cox USA

We Dig Arizona. Do you?
Founded in 1975, the Arizona Utility Contractors Association (AZUCA) has a broad membership base that includes contractors, governing agencies, utilities, locating companies, suppliers and our

Giving Back: Pipeline Week Supports Kids Meals Houston
I have been exhibiting at Pipeline Week for three years now, and I always look forward to seeing new technologies, spreading the damage prevention message



CGA Excavation Safety Conference & Expo, Phoenix Arizona, March 6-8, 2018

Future Trends in Damage Prevention
For all pipeline and utility owners and operators, safety and damage prevention are the first priorities. Safety programs are focused on the workplace safety of

CGA’s 2018 Communications Plan and Calendar
The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is gearing up for 2018! CGA released its eighth consecutive communications Plan and Calendar via webinar in November to guide

Stuck in the MUDD
Thirty-four years ago, I began my career as a site engineer standing in the mud of Ireland’s utility trenches. Let’s face it, it is always

CGA Plans Multiple Events during the 2018 CGA 811 Excavation Safety Conference and Expo
Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is thrilled that an expected 1,700+ damage prevention stakeholders will gather in Phoenix, Arizona March 6-8 for the annual CGA 811

Before, During, and After a Wildland Fire!
What do wildland fires have to do with utility and pipeline damage prevention? More than you might imagine! It’s been six years since Texas suffered

Keeping up with the (Technology) Jones’
The Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-183, June 22, 2016), directed the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation

Pipelines, Utility Workers, & Farmers: A Great Partnership
All partnerships work best when the partners work closely together. Any football team or race team or farm team needs everyone working together for the


Damage Prevention is a Long Distance Race
Distance runners are a unique group of athletes, full of strength, endurance and determination. They often compete at a mental game on a country road,

Journey Into Damage Prevention
Late in August of last year, I was hired to work as Business Development Consultant for my family’s company, C. H. Fenstermaker & Associates, founded