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2021 Position Statement <br /> <br /> <br />Seek Industry Consensus on 216D (One-call) Changes <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />lines or <br />other utility facilities in the construction area. Utilities then mark the location of their respective <br />infrastructure to prevent it from being damaged from digging or excavating. The Gopher State <br />One-call Center (GSOC) takes all such calls to 811 and coordinates communications among <br />utility facility operators, their locating personnel or contract locators, and excavation contractors. <br />One-call procedures also apply to homeowners digging for gardening, landscaping, or any other <br />reason. GSOC is overseen by the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety (MNOPS). Minnesota <br />Statutes Chapter 216D and the GSOC system were created in 1987. The vision for 216D was a <br />public safety-focused collaboration between the operators, excavators, and a new <br />MNOPS. Since that time only a few modest changes have been made to the law. These <br />changes came about primarily as the result of discussions between all interested parties. <br /> <br />CURRENT STATUS <br />In 2019, MNOPS, without having held the traditional stakeholder meetings, had legislation <br />introduced that raised numerous concerns for utility providers. Ultimately the bill did not <br />become law, and subsequently there have been some targeted stakeholder meetings. To date, <br />however, no agreement has been reached on changes to Chapter 261D, or even the need for <br />the reforms proposed by GSOC. <br />Meanwhile, over the past several years, the volume of tickets submitted to the GSOC system <br />has steadily grown. For operators, it has become increasingly challenging to meet the strict <br />requirement under Minnesota Statutes §216D.04 of completing locates within 48 hours after a <br />ticket is issued. Repeated suggestions to restore statutory authorization for operators to arrange <br />alternate locate arrangements with excavators have been resisted. As originally enacted, <br />Chapter 216D allowed this, but the language was inexplicably removed from the statute in 2004. <br />Restoring this language would go a long way toward releasing the pressure that has been <br />caused by the ever-increasing volume of tickets the GSOC system is handling. <br />Operators have concerns about MNprevious calls for more reporting. It is not clear what <br />safety, reliability or efficiency problem MNOPS seeks to solve by enacting additional reporting <br />requirements. Operators are not aware of any patterns or trends, other than the increasing <br />volume of tickets submitted to the GSOC system, which point to any systemic problem with <br />GSOC. The current enforcement model, in which MNOPS can investigate complaints, and <br />crafts unique regulatory remedies for companies that have not complied with the statute, is <br />3131 Fernbrook Lane North, Suite 200, Plymouth, MN55447-5337·763.551.1230 ·763.551.0459 Fax ·www.mmua.org <br />384 <br />