Dredging Safety Council Releases Pipeline Incident Prevention Guide
The Council for Dredging and Marine Construction Safety (CDMCS) released Pipeline Incident Prevention (PIP), a recommended best practices guide for safe dredging near underwater gas and hazardous liquid pipelines located in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers federal navigation channels.
In September of 2018, the CDMCS Pipeline Task Force (PTF) set to reduce underwater pipeline incidents during dredging activities by delivering solutions that support safe work practices and increase public awareness through inter-agency public/private collaboration and information-sharing. This resource delivers on that promise with recommendations fully vetted by all stakeholders: dredging contractors, pipeline operators, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and various state agencies.
Crewmembers and shoreside management can benefit from the many following topics: understanding pipelines and their operators, understanding dredges and their operators, notifying 811 One Call, obtaining accurate pipeline coordinates and ownership information from the various federal and state databases, identifying pipeline leaks and knowing how to respond, effectively collaborating and communicating with all parties, ensuring pipeline avoidance, and implementing advance planning three months prior to project start.
At the end of the guide, there is also a complete federal, regional and state regulatory agency point-of-contact list covering all states on the West Coast, Gulf Coast and East Coast from Florida to Massachusetts. Additionally, there is a PIP Hazard Mitigation Checklist that covers preventative steps prior to working near underwater pipelines and steps to take in the event of a pipeline leak.
The PIP and Hazard Mitigation Checklist are available for download at https://cdmcs.org/underwater-pipeline-resource-center/
The PIP comes in two sizes (letter, 8.5 by 11 inches, and pocket, 6.25 by 9.25 inches), while the Hazard Mitigation Checklist is formatted for one size, 4.5 by 11 inches. Both were designed to be double-sided. Non-members of the CDMCS, should review this link for booklet creation directions. A limited number of hard copies will be provided to CDMCS members at upcoming CDMCS meetings.
