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| A Working Document |
At any given time, the CGA Best
Practices Committee will have 10-15 potential new practices under
committee review. In addition, the committee receives
approximately 10 new practice proposals per year.
Prior to approval, each new
practice must pass through the "Best Practices Committee" review and
approval process. By the time a new practice arrives at a meeting
for final approval, the wording has often been under review for over one
year; and the wording has been reviewed closely by fifteen stakeholder
groups, their respective companies/trade associations, and many of the
1,200 CGA members. Each approved new practice and/or
practice revision must then receive consensus approval
at a Best Practices Meeting and final approval by the CGA Board of
Directors.
As a result, any best practices
endorsed by the CGA come with consensus support from experts
representing the following stakeholder groups: Excavator,
Locator, Road Builders, Electric, Telecommunications, Oil, Gas,
Railroad, Water, One Call, Public Works, Equipment Manufacturing, State
Regulators, Insurance, Engineering Design and Emergency
Services.
Amendments
to the Common Ground Study (1999)
Since the Common Ground Study
was approved in 1999, the CGA has passed multiple amendments to the
original document. The following new practices and practice
revisions were approved by the CGA Board and have been (or will be)
published in the Best Practices manual.
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| Approved Practices (Click for complete practice) |
Project Coordination - December 12, 2008
Large and/or Complex projects may require the use of specific processes established to enhance safety and coordinate buried facility damage prevention efforts among all potentially affected stakeholders throughout the life of the project. Such processes are intended to compliment, and be used in addition to, standard and customary one call notification and locating practices.
| Modification to One Call Quality Standards - November 14, 2008
Modification to Practice 3-23: The one-call center establishes and monitors performance standards for the operation of the center.
| No Charge for Providing Facility Locations - August 8, 2008
Upon notification by One Call centers, locations of underground facilities are provided by operators at no cost to excavators.
| One Call Membership - August 8, 2008
Any entity that furnishes or transports products or services to a third party for their use or consumption by means of an underground facility or furnishes or transports products or services for its own internal use by means of an underground facility that occupies or crosses a right-of-way or utility easement is a member of a one-call organization.
| Use of Qualified Designers - November 15, 2007
Project owners employ qualified design and SUE providers.
| Chapter 2 Additions - August 24, 2007
Plats prepared for the development of real property identify and show the alignment of any existing buried facilities and the presence and extent of any existing easements and/or Rights of Way.
| SUE Language Update - August 24, 2007
When applied properly during the design phase, SUE provides significant cost and damage avoidance benefits and the opportunity to correct inaccuracies in existing facility records.
| Chapter 4 References - August 24, 2007
Update Best Practice 4.10 reference that includes a quote from NULCA’s 1998, Underground Facility Marking Standards. This standard is no longer available.
| NULCA Competency Standards - March 7, 2007
Add a reference to the new NULCA competency standards within the BP manual to keep the manual up to date.
| Web Services Solution - November 16, 2006
The one call center provides a method by which a member operator can receive their excavation notifications through a secure web service that utilizes an accepted standard for its ticket format, such as Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0.
| Emergency Coordination with Adjacent Facilities - September 8, 2006
Emergency response planning includes coordination with emergency responders and other above and/or underground infrastructure facility owner/operators identified by the Incident Commander through the Incident Command System/Unified Command (ICS/UC) during an emergency.
| Identification of Unknown Lines - September 8, 2006
The one call center has a defined and documented policy for handling calls from excavators regarding the discovery of an unidentified line.
| Locating & Marking in Navigable Waterways - September 16, 2005
Permanent Markers: Permanent markers are placed as close as practical at the entrance and exit point of facilities located underneath bodies of water where facilities are at risk of being damaged. For gas and liquid pipelines these bodies of water are specifically categorized as "commercially navigable waterways" as defined in 49 CFR 195.450.
Temporary Markers: Temporary markers are placed within the areas of proposed excavations as close as practical over facilities that are submerged in bodies of water where facilities are at risk of being damaged without impeding or creating additional hazards.
| Trenchless Technology - September 16, 2005
All stakeholders adhere to all Best Practices and the following general guidelines prior to, during and after any trenchless excavation (as applicable): (Click for description)
| SUE Standard - March 3, 2005
When applied properly during the design phase, SUE provides significant cost and damage avoidance benefits.
| Radar Based Locating - March 3, 2005
When electromagnetic locating is not possible, radar-based technologies can be used.
| Marking Guidelines - September 24, 2004
Split into Part A (Adoption of Uniform Color Code) & Part B (Marking Guidelines): (Click for complete practice)
| Locating Quality Assurance - March 25, 2004
Underground facility owners/operators have a quality assurance program in place for monitoring the locating and marking of facilities.8622392469
| Supply Line Separation - September 25, 2003
When installing new direct buried supply facilities in a common
trench, a minimum or 12 inch radial separation should be maintained
between supply facilities such as steam lines, plastic gas lines, other
fuel lines, and direct buried electrical supply lines. (Click for complete practice)
| Homeland Security - April 8, 2003
Many of the recommended practices contained within the CGA’s Best
Practices Manual require the sharing of critical infrastructure information.
This sharing is an important aspect of ensuring that parties involved with
the identification of, the excavation around, and the general protection of
underground facilities have adequate information to protect underground
infrastructures. (Click for complete practice)
| Notification of Emergency Personnel - September 27, 2002
If the damage results in the escape of any flammable, toxic, or corrosive gas or liquid or endangers life, health,
or property, the excavator responsible immediately notifies 911 and the facility owner/operator. The excavator takes reasonable measures to protect themselves and those in immediate danger, general public, property, and the environment until the facility owner operator or emergency responders have arrived and completed their assessment.
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