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Utah PSC technical conference emphasizes CGA Dirt tool and locator performance to curb rising utility damages
Summary
At a Utah Public Service Commission technical conference, DPU pipeline safety managers and Common Ground Alliance representatives presented national and Utah Dirt data showing rising utility damages and outlined targeted practices, pilot post-locate inspections and training to reduce strikes.
At a technical conference convened by the Utah Public Service Commission, Division of Public Utilities pipeline safety program manager Jimmy Bitham and visiting Common Ground Alliance (CGA) representatives presented national and Utah damage data and described steps regulators and industry can take to reduce utility strikes.
Bitham summarized the PSC/DPU mission to “ensure the safe construction, operation and maintenance of intrastate natural gas pipelines in the state of Utah,” and said the program adopts PHMSA performance standards and reporting rules to meet federal grant requirements. He told the conference that PHMSA funding covers roughly 60% of the program’s costs and credited recent staffing and administrative improvements for near‑perfect audit scores.
The session featured a recorded presentation by Ryan White of USA North 811 and the CGA regional committee, who explained the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT). White said the DIRT database collects voluntarily submitted damage and near‑miss reports and that national 2024 data showed nearly…
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