The NRCGA held its 12th Annual Northern Nevada Silver Shovel Event on Friday, December 15, 2017, at the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks Nevada. At this annual breakfast, three excavators were honored based on the number of tickets they called in over a 12-month period and having had no at-fault damages.
The winners of the three categories were:
Frank Lepori Construction 0 – 50 tickets
Tahoe Fence 51 – 200 tickets
Nevada Barricade & Sign Company 201 tickets or more
There were approximately 50 people in attendance. As an added bonus, the NRCGA held prize drawings and gave away $600.00 worth of Home Depot gift cards, hats, and a backpack from USA North 811.
Carson City, Nev. – The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (“PUCN”) pipeline safety division reports it has investigated several recent incidents involving excavators attempting improper repairs to stop the flow of natural gas from damaged facilities.
“In situations where a natural gas pipeline has been damaged and natural gas is escaping, the most fundamental and important actions to take are: To immediately cease work, evacuate the impacted area to minimize the hazard presented by the damaged pipeline, telephone emergency 911 services from a safe area, and contact the utility operator,” says PUCN Senior Gas Pipeline Engineer Neil Pascual.
Nevada Revised Statute (“NRS”) 455.140 and Nevada Administrative Code (“NAC”) 455.160 require excavators to follow those steps and not attempt to operate any valve or other device owned by a utility.
Residential and small commercial connections typically are 1-inch polyethylene lines.
Excavators can minimize the ongoing hazard of a broken pipeline by evacuating all persons from the area, rather than attempting to have an unqualified person attempt to stop the gas flow.
Excavators should not attempt to temporarily stop the flow of gas from a damaged pipeline because:
The potential for a buildup of static electricity on the plastic pipeline or a person’s fingers can cause ignition. If an excavator attempts to touch the damaged pipeline, that could result in a spark that ignites the escaping gas and cause a fireball in the immediate area.
If the excavator is in a deep enough hole or trench where the gas is escaping, the gas could displace most of the oxygen in the trench, resulting in the person potentially inhaling a large quantity of pure natural gas and losing consciousness.
Any entity failing to adhere to the laws outlined in NRS Chapter 455 can be subject to civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day per violation, up to a maximum of $250,000 for a given calendar year. The PUCN has issued approximately 20 civil penalties to excavators and operators in the past 12 months for violations associated with NRS Chapter 455. Additionally, the excavator could face utility repair and damage costs that may range from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars if the damage were to result in a significant incident.
811 – Call Before You Dig
The PUCN reminds commercial and residential excavators that every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to the statewide 811 hotline (“Call Before You Dig” program). Professional locators are dispatched, usually within two working days, to the requested dig site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
In an effort to control a damaged and blowing gas pipeline, the PUCN reports one excavator entered a trench, folded the 1-inch pipeline back onto itself and secured the folded pipeline with zip ties. Residential and small commercial connections typically are 1-inch polyethylene lines.
Eric Flores, a utility line locator with ELM, walked away from the June 3 NRCGA Utility Locate Rodeo as Nevada’s top locator. Now Flores will go on to represent Nevada at the June 24 International Utility Locate Rodeo in Dallas.
Thirteen locators from around Nevada competed in one of three Rodeo divisions – gas, power and communications. USIC’s Brian Alfred took the communication division, Ricky Spurlock, ELM, won the power division, with Flores locking up the gas division. Each division winner took home $1060 in prize money, all provided by Rodeo sponsors. Alfred, Spurlock and Flores went on to compete in the Jackpot Locate for the title of Locator of the Year and $2120 in additional prize money provided by Rodeo sponsors, which Flores ultimately claimed.
Prize drawings during the event’s award ceremony, held at the close of the Rodeo, ensured each competitor walked away a winner. Thanks to the generosity of the Rodeo’s vendors and sponsors, competitors took home TVs, drones, an iPad, Google speaker, and power tool.
March: NRCGA set up a booth at the CGA’s annual Excavation Safety Conference & Expo, March 8 – 10, at the Mirage in Las Vegas. NRCGA members Craig Rogers & Bob Ward provided two educational sessions, one on common sense locates and another on excavator training.
April – May: NRCGA contracted ELM Locating & Utility Services to provide Introduction to Damage Prevention training to approximately 50 line locators in Elko, Reno and Las Vegas. The training was funded through the NRCGA’s Technical Assistance Grant award provided by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration.
May – June: NRCGA sponsored the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and NUCA golf tournaments in Las Vegas. The NRCGA also sponsored an ACGPAC golf tournament in Northern Nevada. At each tournament, the NRCGA set up a tent to promote the NRCGA and 811. Volunteers distributed golf divot repair tools as swag.
September: NRCGA hosted its Annual Contractor Recognition/Safe Event in Carson City with 60 excavators in attendance. Granite Construction won the NRCGA’s “Ken Jones Memorial Award” for most dig tickets requested and zero at-fault damages. Jet Plumbing and Lakeside Excavating were also recognized for safe digging practices.
November: NRCGA hosted the Excavator Appreciation Event in Henderson with more than 100 excavators and line locators in attendance. The NRCGA Board of Directors selected Byrd Underground for the Silver Shovel Award based on the number of new tickets called in by the organization and no at-fault damages from May 2015 – May 2016. The City of North Las Vegas came in second and received a plaque for outstanding performance. Byrd Underground’s award includes a free trip for one representative to attend the CGA’s 2017 Excavation Safety Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida. Justin McCarger became the NRCGA’s first ever Locator of the Year. Brandon Soma received the NRCGA’s first ever Outstanding Performance Award. McCarger’s award includes a free trip to the 2017 International Utility Locate Rodeo in Dallas, Texas.
January – December: More than 1,000 excavators statewide Nevada received the NRCGA’s Excavator Safety Training.
Buddy and Tyler Byrd accept the Silver Shovel Award. A representative from Senator Joe Heck’s office stands to the far left.
More than 100 excavators, locators, regulators and utility workers attended the NRCGA’s Nov. 3 annual Excavator Appreciation Event at the Henderson Convention Center. Highlights of the night included a BBQ dinner, lots of raffle tickets, and the announcement of the Silver Shovel Award winner. New to this year’s event was the NRCGA’s first-ever Locator of the Year award presentation.
This year’s silver shovel trophy was awarded to Byrd Underground/Ditch Diggers.In addition to Byrd, the City of North Las Vegas was also in the running for the award. The City of North Las Vegas received a plaque for outstanding performance. Both Byrd and the city were nominated for the award by the NRCGA’s Silver Shovel Committee based on the number of new tickets called in by the organization and no at-fault damages between May 2015 and May 2016. Members of the NRCGA’s Board of Directors conducted in-person interviews with representatives of both organizations in Oct. to determine the winner. Byrd also received one free trip to the Common Ground Alliance’s March 2017 Excavation Safety Conference & Expo in Florida.
Justin McCarger became the NRCGA’s first ever Locator of the Year and Brandon Soma received the NRCGA’s first ever outstanding performance award. Both McCarger, who resides and locates in the Reno area, and Soma, who resides and locates in southern Nevada, are employees of ELM Locating & Utility Services. Months prior to the event, the NRCGA asked eligible organizations with locate staff to submit applicants for the award. In order to be considered, a locator must have worked for the organization for at least one full year and have had zero at-fault damages between May 2015 and May 2016. Members of the NRCGA’s Board of Directors held in-person interviews with the locator nominees in Oct. to determine the winner. In addition to a silver belt buckle, McCarger also received a paid trip to Texas to participate in the 2017 International Locate Rodeo.
To determine the 2017 Locator of the Year, the NRCGA has begun planning the first annual Nevada locate rodeo. For more information on the Nevada locate rodeo, attend the NRCGA’s monthly meetings or email info@nrcga.org.
Robert Ward, NV Energy, welcomes attendees.
The vendor expo.
Robert Ward, left, and Craig Rogers, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, choose a raffle winner.
Colin Miyadi from USA North 811 educates the attendees about USAN’s one-call procedures.
Excavators and locators enjoy the event.
The food line.
Craig Rogers explains the new process implemented by the NRCGA to select the first ever Locator of the Year award.
Brandon Soma, left, and Justin McCarger. McCarger is 2016 Locator of the Year.
The City of North Las Vegas’ Scott Durbin accepts the outstanding performance award. A representative from Senator Joe Heck’s office stands to the left. Ted Pistone, NUCA Las Vegas, stands to the right.
The 11th Annual Contractor Recognition/SAFE Event was held in Northern Nevada on September 21, 2016, at the Carson Nugget in Carson City. There were approximately 60 people in attendance. The participants enjoyed a buffet breakfast while they listened to the presentation by Patrice Heyer from USAN. The presentation covered NRS requirements, NAC requirements, 5 steps to a safe excavation and new website enhancements at USAN. After the presentation, awards were given to excavators in three categories.
The category winners were:
Granite Construction (>=201 Tickets)
Jet Plumbing (51 – 200 Tickets)
Lakeside Excavating (5 – 50 Tickets)
This year, the top category was named the “Ken Jones Memorial Award.” This award is in honor of Ken Jones for his dedication to damage prevention. While he worked at the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, Ken devoted the majority of his time to damage prevention. He was instrumental in educating excavators, utility operators and the public about damage prevention. During his tenure, the number of damages in Nevada dropped drastically. This was, in a big part, due to Ken and his passion for underground utility safety. With this award, Ken’s legacy will live on.
Left to right: Richard Gill, Lakeside Excavating, and Mike Moody, Southwest Gas.
Left to right: Jake Deen, Jet Plumbing, and Mike Moody, Southwest Gas.
Left to right: Donovin Greenwell, Granite Construction, and Mike Moody, Southwest Gas.
USA North’s Patrice Heyer educating the excavators.
The NRCGA hosted its annual Excavator Appreciation event on November 5, 2015, at the Henderson Convention Center, with 74 people attending! Robert Ward, NV Energy, was the event chairperson. During his presentation at the event, he spoke about teamwork. Tom Georgi, Las Vegas Valley Water District, and keynote speaker John Marz, councilman for the city of Henderson, also spoke about the importance of damage prevention to keep our communities safe.
Robert Ward presented the Outstanding Performance Award to Jerrad Martin, JBM Underground.
Ted Pistone, NUCA Executive Director, presented the Silver Shovel Award to Greg Walker, KNL Construction.
Ken Minster from Congressman Joe Heck’s office and Stephan Sifuentes from Senator Dean Heller’s office.
Stephen Sifuentes and Ken Minster gave the winners certificates of appreciation.
Trench Plate Rental’s booth.
CenturyLink booth.
Swag and info from Kern River Gas.
USA North’s booth.
Public Utilities Commission of Nevada booth.
Southwest Gas employees.
Enjoying the event . . .
Bob Ward addresses the attendees.
Henderson Councilman John Marz provided the keynote address.
