Utah PSC technical conference emphasizes CGA Dirt tool and locator performance to curb rising utility damages

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 197,000 damages and an increase in the CGA index from 94 to 96.7. “When most damages come from a small set of predictable behaviors, it means that we have a huge opportunity for improvement,” White said.

White and Bitham broke out Utah figures from the Dirt dashboard: 1,697 unique utility damages in 2024; excavating issues accounted for more than 40% of those damages, locating issues about 25%, and natural gas accounted for some 82% of reported Utah damages. Utah reported about 518,000 locate requests and more than 4.3 million transmissions to utility operators in 2024, the presenters said.

Bitham and other DPU staff walked through the agency’s inspection program and recent metrics. They reported a 2025 snapshot of roughly 462,000 locate tickets, 1,167 damages and a damage rate of about 2.5 damages per thousand tickets. Inspection workload and enforcement metrics were discussed: notices of probable violations decreased in recent years, construction inspection days increased because of valley projects, and some small ‘‘master meter’’ operators produce carryover enforcement items because of turnover and nonresponse.

To address identified root causes, presenters urged adoption of CGA Best Practices — site delineation, preserving marks, following tolerance‑zone excavation techniques, exposure methods (hand digging/potholing/vacuum excavation), stopping work when marks don’t match field conditions, and documenting sites. White said the CGA’s ‘‘50 in 5’’ initiative (reduce damages 50% by 2027) requires state‑level adoption of those consistent practices.

Bitham described a PHMSA‑suggested pilot that audits contracted locators with post‑locate inspections and performance measures such as on‑time locates, late locates, no‑shows and associated damages. He said DPU receives monthly regional snapshots of Enbridge data and is working to use those metrics to identify hot spots and training needs.

In audience Q&A, Blue Stakes and DPU representatives clarified the one‑call/811 role: 811 is the inbound notification center that digitally notifies multiple operators; operators or third‑party locators perform field marking. Speakers noted statutory changes that extended the life of marks and altered ticket timing, and discussed enforcement as an incentive — including civil penalties available under state law and private causes of action for operators that suffer damages. A DPU representative said the NTSB preliminary investigation into a prior fatal incident has produced recommendations; DPU is awaiting the final NTSB report and expects to follow up with operators once the report is released.

No formal votes or regulatory actions were taken at the technical conference. Panelists closed by encouraging industry adoption of best practices, expanded use of DIRT for local benchmarking, and continued outreach and training for contractors, locators and municipal operators. The technical conference was adjourned after a short closing exchange from PSC leadership.

This report is based on presentations and Q&A from the Utah Public Service Commission technical conference and the CGA video presentation; the PSC said it will follow up on NTSB findings and continue inspections and post‑locate pilot work.