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Contractors tell Senate committee abandoned utility lines pose safety risks; urge action in HB 54
Summary
Representatives of George J. Igel & Co. described multiple incidents where unmarked or improperly abandoned utilities caused hazards, and urged the committee to include provisions in House Bill 54 to improve records, purging and notification around abandoned lines.
Mary Logan Soe, vice president of safety and employee development for George J. Igel & Company Inc., gave extended testimony recounting multiple incidents in which contractors struck unmarked or misidentified abandoned utility lines during excavation.
Soe described several case examples: a crew that struck what was thought to be an abandoned 4-inch gas line but which contained a live 2-inch line fed through the abandoned conduit; a project where locators had incorrect drawings and a gas line was struck near a school; an urban excavation where workers hit an unmarked 2-inch line tied to a 16-inch main that burned for hours and required road closures; and a tunnel repair where a worker jackhammered into an unmarked 13,200-volt electric line, suffering injury and shutting power to multiple buildings.
Soe said the incidents forced contractors to take extra measures—surveying and GPSing lines, paying third parties to test and purge lines, and delaying work. She said these events demonstrate that "luck runs out" and that a legislative solution should clarify responsibilities for records, abandonment procedures, and who has authority to confirm whether a facility is live or dead.
Asked how participation at a stakeholder table would help, Soe said success depends not only on who attends but that representatives have decision-making authority. She described her role as co-chair of an abandoned-line subcommittee of the Ohio Utilities Damage Prevention Coalition and said progress requires committed stakeholders with authority to act.
Soe urged the committee to allow the House Bill 54 language to bring decisionmakers together so the coalition can agree on safety-focused practices. The committee did not take formal action during the hearing.
