Minutes of Maryland/DC Damage Prevention Meeting
May 25, 2010
Miss Utility Call Center
Hanover, MD 21076
I. Call To Order and Introduction:
Wayne Gilmer (Utiliquest) called the regular monthly meeting to order at 9:35 am.
Introductions were made.
The minutes of April 27, 2010 were approved.
II. Safety Item:
Wayne Gilmer’s monthly safety topic covered eye protection and things you can do to avoid eye injuries at work and home.
III. MGH Update:
Nick Kelly (MGH) gave the following report:
Home Depot Stores
- The floor graphics were installed on May 3 at the Hyattsville and Rosedale stores.
- MGH is pursuing additional partnerships with these stores.
2009 LAA/Dig Smart Awards
- MGH wrote an article for the CGA newsletter
- Damage prevention presentations were given to several of the Dig Smart entry form participants:
- May 7th with AA Signs- Mark Hamrick (Verizon) and Jack Sullivan (BGE)
- May 17th with Smithsonian Institute- Wayne Gilmer
- SEH Excavating was rescheduled to June 3rd -Mark Hamrick and Wayne Gilmer
Scott Brown (Washington Gas) said they mailed an 811 bill insert with NASCAR driver Greg Biffle on it last month and it resulted in 33% homeowner tickets being received in April versus 17% the same time last year.
IV. 2010 Trade Show Schedule:
Nick KNick Kelly said Matt Ruddo (Miss Utility) and Tony Gersitz (Miss Utility of Delmarva) would be covering the Maryland Municipal League and Maryland Association of Counties conferences this summer in Ocean City, MD. He referred everyone to the Minutes below for a list of the shows this fall.
V. Delmarva Locator Achievement Awards:
Wayne Gilmer stated that Khrysanne Kerr (CGA) did an excellent job as guest speaker at the Miss Utility of Delmarva Awards night at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino on April 29, 2010. Wayne said their Awards night was very similar to the MD/DC one, but there were a couple of things that we may want to consider doing next year.
VI. Damage Prevention Presentations/Safety Events:
Wayne Gilmer gave a brief update on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Safety Awareness Fair held on May 20th, 2010 from 10:00am-2:00pm. He thanked Bob Griffith (PEPCO), Chuck Baker (Verizon) and Curtis Hunter (Washington Gas) for covering the event.
Wayne also gave a quick update on the upcoming presentations/safety events:
- May 26th- Associated Builders and Contractors Metro Washington DC Chapter presentation in Calverton, MD had to be rescheduled for the fall
- May 27th- Clearwater Landscape & Nursery, Inc. in Ijamsville, MD
- June 7th- Maryland National Park and Planning Commission in Upper Marlboro, MD
- June 10th- North Island & Centennial Contractors Safety fair at the Southern MD Higher Education Center in California, MD
- June 11th- 8th Annual DCWASA Safety Day at the Blue Plains Treatment Plant in Washington, DC
- June 23rd- Commerce Corporation 6th Annual Health & Wellness Fair
VII. 2010 Greater Chesapeake Damage Prevention Training Conference:
Matt Ruddo gave the following update:
- Conference will be held October 20-22, 2010 at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel in Ocean City, MD
- October 20th will kick off with a golf outing & welcome reception in exhibit hall
- 100 individuals are registered at this time
- 3 out of the 4 meal sponsorships have been secured:
- Welcome Reception- B. Frank Joy
- Opening Breakfast - SSG, LLC
- Friday Breakfast- Choptank Electric Cooperative
- Early discount period ends July 31, 2010
- Planning Committee will meet immediately follow the Damage Prevention meeting
Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are available and can be found at the following links:
http://www.missutility.net/gcdptc/sponsors.asp
http://www.missutility.net/gcdptc/exhibitors.asp
VII. Title XII Steering Committee:
Scott Brown gave the following update on the Maryland Law:
- SB911/HB1290 was signed by the Governor on May 20, 2010
- Go to www.gov.state.md.us" target="_blank">www.gov.state.md.us and select photos option to see the signing
- Complies with the federal PIPES Act of 2006
- Includes many of the CGA best practices
- Complies with the federal Distribution Integrity Management Program
- Common one call practices will become Law
- Creation of a ticket life and sensible size
- Maryland DOT will join the one call system
- Creation of the Maryland Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Authority
- The Authority is non governmental authority that will enforce the Law and will have term limits for each member
- Designer Ticket will be added
- Adoption of the American Public Works Association color code for marking underground facilities
- 18 inch no mechanized equipment zone will become statewide standard
- Homeowners using mechanized equipment must call before they dig
IX. MD/DC Subscribers Committee Meeting:
Wayne Gilmer said the next meeting is scheduled for September 9, 2010 in the Western portion of the state of Maryland.
X. FTTP/FIOS Progress Report:
Mark Hamrick gave the following FTTP trench footage projections:
| |
June |
July |
| Anne Arundel |
15,03018,259 |
1,000 |
| Baltimore |
83,553 |
55,317 |
| Charles |
5,420 |
0 |
| Howard |
91,027 |
500 |
| Harford |
10,795 |
15,919 |
| Montgomery |
56,799 |
93,202 |
| Prince George’s |
229,666 |
206,166 |
| Washington DC |
0 |
0 |
Open Discussion:
Cal Brooks (Howard County) cited an issue he had getting locate marks on a water leak job in a remote area of Columbia, MD. He said the locator refused to mark the job because the ticket did not provide detailed locate instructions. Cal was also concerned because Howard County was told by the locator to call in another ticket. Paul Elwood (Utilitquest) asked Cal to get him the ticket number so that he could address it.
Cal Brooks stated that the Department of Homeland Security has begun installing a fiber optic conduit system in the County. Paul Elwood commented that it is a huge project and they have already met with the contractor doing the work. This led to a lengthy discussion and concerns that no one is marking or protecting the conduit run. Cal said he will have someone contact Matt Ruddo so that the network can be registered with Miss Utility. He also believes they are currently using locatable mule tape in the conduit to identify it, but realizes it may not be the best application.
Dennis Lescalleet (Pleasants Construction) cited an example in Frederick County in which he had problems getting a private utility line located. Mark Hamrick said he needs to contact with a private utility locating company because most contract locating companies will only mark for their utility owner clients.
John Berrettini (A/I/Data) asked how often underground utility lines get located from records and not field locate marks. Tom Hastings said it depends on the type of utility line. He said most concrete structures such as water and sewer mains require good records. Paul Elwood said they have to locate no-traceable gas services on occasion.
Mark Hamrick stated that Verizon lines continue to be damaged in Washington DC and the impact on customer service is a very serious concern. He stated that Verizon will continue to encourage the scheduling of damage prevention training through the MD/DC Damage Prevention team. Verizon is also encouraging all excavators they come in contact with to utilize the MD/DC damage prevention resources and he would like to ask the other Subscriber members to do the same.
Dennis Lescalleet asked why Ticket Check is not in place in the District of Columbia. Matt Ruddo said the DC Law does not require the one-call system to maintain and operate a fully automated positive response system; however, there are a handful of DC Subscribers that use it on a voluntary basis.
Scott Brown stated that the District of Columbia government is looking at changing the DC Law. He said that it may require another steering committee be formed of DC Subscribers similar to what was done in Maryland with the Title XII group. He said we look forward to partnering with all stakeholders in the District of Columbia to increase damage prevention efforts. He also wanted to thank DCWASA for hosting the last MD/DC Subscriber meeting in the District of Columbia.
Upcoming Trade Shows:
The following tradeshows are schedule for 2010:
| Show name: |
|
Maryland Municipal League |
| Date: |
|
June 27-29, 2010 |
| City, State: |
|
Ocean City, MD |
| Place: |
|
Ocean City Convention Center |
| Website: |
|
http://www.mdmunicipal.org/cv09/cvgeneralinfo.cfm |
|
| Show name: |
|
Maryland Association of Counties |
| Date: |
|
August 18-21, 2010 |
| City, State: |
|
Ocean City, MD |
| Place: |
|
Roland Powell Convention Center |
| Website: |
|
http://www.mdcounties.org//events/events.cfm |
|
| Show name: |
|
Chesapeake Safety Conference |
| Date: |
|
September 14, 2010 |
| City, State: |
|
Laurel, MD |
| Place: |
|
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab |
| Website: |
|
http://www.chesapeakeasse.org/meetings.php |
|
Show name: |
|
Suburban Maryland Fall Home Show |
| Date: |
|
September 11-12, 2010 |
| City, State: |
|
Germantown, MD |
| Place: |
|
Discovery Sports Center at Maryland Soccerplex |
| Website: |
|
http://www.acshomeshow.com/HGExpo/DSF.html |
|
| Show name: |
|
Harford Live! Home & Garden Show |
| Date: |
|
September 25-26, 2010 |
| City, State: |
|
Aberdeen, MD |
| Place: |
|
Ripken Stadium |
| Website: |
|
http://www.harfordlive.com |
|
| Show name: |
|
Maryland Home and Garden Show |
| Date: |
|
October 15-17, 2010 |
| City, State: |
|
Timonium, MD |
| Place: |
|
Maryland State Fairgrounds |
| Website: |
|
http://www.mdhomeandgarden.com/0_HG/01_HG_show_info.html |
|
| Show name: |
|
Suburban Maryland Fall Home Show |
| Date: |
|
October 29-31, 2010 |
| City, State: |
|
Upper Marlboro, MD |
| Place: |
|
The Show Place Arena |
| Website: |
|
http://www.acshomeshow.com/HGExpo/SPF.html |
|
Upcoming Meetings:
The next Maryland/DC Damage Prevention meeting is scheduled for
June 22, 2010 at the Miss Utility Center. Coffee and donuts
will be served at 9:00 am. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am.
The next Maryland/DC Subscribers meeting will be held September 9, 2010 2010 with the location in Western Maryland to be determined at a later date/time.
There being no further business brought before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 am.
 |
| ITIC % Report for Maryland and Washington D.C. |
|
| Month |
|
Call Center Tickets |
|
ITIC Tickets |
|
Percentage |
| Apr-09 |
|
58,278 |
|
42,368 |
|
73% |
| May-09 |
|
54,805 |
|
39,824 |
|
73% |
| Jun-09 |
|
63,827 |
|
47,181 |
|
74% |
| Jul-08 |
|
60,956 |
|
45,051 |
|
74% |
| Aug-09 |
|
56,912 |
|
42,621 |
|
75% |
| Sep-09 |
|
59,409 |
|
44,048 |
|
74% |
| Oct-09 |
|
56,231 |
|
41,518 |
|
74% |
| Nov-09 |
|
47,354 |
|
35,332 |
|
75% |
| Dec-09 |
|
46,735 |
|
36,479 |
|
78% |
| Jan-10 |
|
46,647 |
|
36,231 |
|
78% |
| Feb-10 |
|
29,716 |
|
23,540 |
|
79% |
| Mar-10 |
|
63,185 |
|
48,118 |
|
76% |
| Apr-10 |
|
62,125 |
|
45,434 |
|
73% |
|
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