PCCA Journal 3rd Quarter 2019

PCCA Journal|3 rd Quarter 2019 10 these states as well, informing them of the situation in Min- nesota and encouraging them to monitor excavation activities in their states and take enforcement action against Century- Link if needed. Finally, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) was sent a letter, recognizing that the agency does not have enforcement authority over telecom carriers but making them aware of this increasing problem. “Despite the need and industry support for timely and accurate locates and for improving communications between excavators and locators, the rash actions in pursuit of cost savings by CenturyLink puts America’s infrastructure at risk and compromises public safety,” the letter stated. “These events will inevitably lead to increased damages, some of which may be catastrophic.” In response to increasing scrutiny and media attention, CenturyLink indicated to the Minnesota OPS that it has “been working to remedy this situation as quickly as possible,” and “has communicated with all stakeholders regarding the chal- lenges it faces, the steps it is taking to fix this issue....” On July 19, a follow-up story from the same local Fox sta- tion reported that Minnesota OPS had begun taking enforce- ment action against CenturyLink and that more than $780,000 in fines were being levied against the telecom carrier. Soon after the locating debacle surfaced in the Gopher State, it was reported that another operator was under the gun for failing to meet locating and marking responsibilities, this time in the gas distribution industry in Michigan. Once our groups were made aware of this, more letters were sent, this time to PHMSA and the Michigan Public Service Com- mission. The letters reminded both agencies that they did in fact have enforcement authority over the pipeline operator (Consumers Energy) and encouraged them to use it. Organizations that joined PCCA in signing all or some of these letters include: • American Pipeline Contractors Association, • American Road and Transportation Builders Association, • Associated General Contractors of America, • Distribution Contractors Association, • National Utility Contractors Association, • National Utility Locating Contractors Association, and • Pipe Line Contractors Association. Installation of underground facilities is increasing national- ly and has been for some time. While fundamental to public safety, the responsibilities in this process are as clear as they are important. Unfortunately, fines associated with locating responsibilities are not normally held in the same regard as calling 811 and safe digging practices. However, enforcement action could certainly make decision makers from companies like CenturyLink think more thoroughly about the conse- quences of poor decisions. All PCCA members know that safety-driven excavation contractors do not dig before utilities are located, and our industry has a strong track record to show for it. However, many excavators are pressured financially to proceed with excavation when facilities are not located, as we have seen in the case of CenturyLink telecom facilities. Some construction firms have indicated that they have lost hundreds of thou- sands of dollars from CenturyLink facilities that were either not marked or mis-marked. Excavation contractors have seen an uptick in the number of delayed and/or unanswered locate tickets over the past several years. Increased excavation brings an increase in 811 locate requests, and this increase in demand makes it impera- tive that underground facility operators are prepared to meet their responsibilities, despite any level of increased demand. If state and federal policymakers and enforcement authori- ties intend to change bad behavior, significant fines must be levied to incentivize large and wealthy underground facilities operators to do what is needed to meet their responsibilities. PCCA and our construction allies will continue to encour- age these authorities to do what is necessary to ensure that all fundamental responsibilities are met by all key stakeholders. PCCA Named to BDAC Job Skills Working Group In January 2017, the FCC announced the formation of a new federal advisory committee, the Broadband Deployment Advi- sory Committee (BDAC), to provide advice and recommenda- tions on how to accelerate broadband deployment by reduc- ing and/or removing regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment. According to the FCC, the BDAC was “intended to provide an effective means for stakeholders with interests in this area to exchange ideas and develop recommendations for the commission, which will in turn enhance the com- mission’s ability to carry out its statutory responsibility to encourage broadband deployment to all Americans.” Several working committees were established to discuss and initially draft much of the material voted on by the full BDAC. When the 2017 announcement was made, PCCA submitted a nomination of a strong PCCA member engaged in several utility markets and a solid track record of performance while deploying broadband for variety of carriers across the coun- Inside Washington Continued from page 9

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