Underground Infrastructure - October 2023 - 28

Inside Infrastructure
PIPES Act of 2023
The PIPES Act of 2020 included language that would require
operators of gas distribution pipelines to identify and manage
traceable, reliable and complete records, including maps and
other drawings. This year, DCA is building on that mandate
by elevating the importance of GIS as a criterion for securing
federal grant dollars.
Specifically, PHMSA's Technical Assistance Grants (TAG)
program provides funding for a broad range of activities, including
improvement of safe digging programs. Also, these
groups are supporting language in the next PIPES Act that
would promote use of GIS
mapping by distinguishing
GIS as a priority in appropriate
PHMSA grant programs.
In letters to oversight
committees in the House
and Senate, these groups
made the case for increased
use of GIS.
" Efficient GIS
houses
In fact, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) released an
innovative case study last year as part of its " Next Practices
Initiative " aimed at providing real-time, mapped images of
underground utilities to qualified stakeholders, such as designers,
locators and excavators, to improve efficiency, as well
as the overall process of accurately locating and marking underground
facilities.
The case study involves an ambitious project known as
the Minnesota Utilities Mapping Project (MUMP), which is
using state-of-the-art technology to create a new tool to revolutionize
viewing of underground utility maps for important
stakeholder groups.
" Efficient GIS houses asset information,
construction, inspection, integrity
management, regulatory compliance, risk
analysis, history and operational data that
many pipeline companies have deemed
mission-critical to successfully managing
natural gas, hazardous liquids, renewables
and water pipelines, " the letter stated.
asset information, construction,
inspection, integrity
management, regulatory compliance, risk analysis, history and
operational data that many pipeline companies have deemed
mission-critical to successfully managing natural gas, hazardous
liquids, renewables and water pipelines, " the letter stated.
" Knowing where pipelines are and what's around them is
critical to pipeline safety, and GIS mapping offers the most effective
way to document and update important data associated
with the location of pipeline and other underground facilities. "
Groups signing on these letters were the American Society
of Civil Engineers, Laborers International Union of North
America, Pipeline Open Data Standard Association, United
Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing
and Pipefitting Industry, and DCA.
While there is interest in the pipeline construction industry
in requiring use of GIS mapping, most understand that a federal
mandate would be problematic for certain facility operators,
particularly small operators and operators of municipal or other
public infrastructure.
However, PHMSA offers funding opportunities that focus
on a range of pipeline safety issues, including those that encourage
the development of new technologies and help municipal
and community-owned utilities improve and maintain safe
pipeline infrastructure. Use of GIS is consistent with this goal.
Addressing security concerns
A leading, and legitimate, concern with use of GIS and sharing
sensitive data regarding the exact location of pipeline infrastructure,
has been raised as the conversation about GIS has
gained interest, and there is one pilot program underway that
is directly addressing this issue.
28 OCTOBER 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
Led by the 811 center
(Gopher State One Call),
with input from other organizations,
it addressed the
ongoing challenges of inaccurate
or incomplete maps,
which are known to contribute
to a significant number of
damages to buried utilities.
The project uses software
that captures 811 ticket information,
including precise location, and creates a digital
report of all buried infrastructure in a given area (established
by the 811 ticket).
The software dynamically connects to facility owners'
mapping data as 811 tickets are initiated and receives maps
as individual data layers. Facility owners control their own
data on their own servers and share only the visualizations of
mapping data and attributes that they select with the system.
Mapping data visualizations are then expunged from the system
as tickets expire.
The digital report can be accessed by key stakeholders such
as designers, locators and excavators. Importantly, all sharing
of data is left to the discretion of the operator to ensure that
only those who need this data are able to access it, and only
for a limited period of time. In the MUMP pilot, this is usually
only for the life of the 811 ticket.
This case study was documented by CGA's Next Practices
Initiative, which was established to encourage innovation and
best practices to address the most critical challenges facing
the damage prevention process. CGA identified " pursuing an
accurate, accessible GIS-based mapping system/database, "
as one of the biggest opportunities for improvement with the
greatest potential return on investment.
As described in CGA's case study, MUMP " dynamically
displays comprehensive utility map visualizations for the geographic
area indicated on an 811 ticket, allowing engineers to
plan new projects more effectively, locators to perform their
duties more efficiently and contractors to excavate more safely
- all while facility owner/operators maintain security and
control over their mapping data. "
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Underground Infrastructure - October 2023

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