Page 21 - Louisiana 811 Magazine 2022 Issue 2

Recently, 811 Magazines
sat down with Steven Giambrone, Pipeline Division Director with the Department of Natural Resources to get his thoughts on Louisiana’s damage prevention program and the effectiveness of enforcement.
When asked about the overall state
of the damage prevention program in Louisiana, Steven responded, “I’d say we’re doing good. The damages per thousand (a measurement of damages to number of tickets) is trending in the right direction. We seem to have buy-in from our stakeholders, which of course is essential to a healthy program. While we certainly haven’t reached our goal of no damages, we are moving in the right direction.”
The enforcement process is complaint driven but one of the more proactive approaches to driving down damages is that his department will routinely make stops at places where digging is taking place to see if a ticket has been called in. If no one is working there, they’ll check to see if they can see marks on the ground. Steven pointed out, “This past year our 23 agents made over 980 visits to job sites that resulted in more than 200 violations and 185 citations.”
Steven said, “I would say that complaints have decreased somewhat, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps it means there are fewer damages or less repeat offenders.
We have started getting a little more aggressive in that if you are digging without a ticket and hit a line, we are no longer giving warnings. Initially, we did. The program was relatively new and we wanted to give everyone some time to get familiar with it as well as the importance of their responsibility in the field.” He continued, “Last year we saw an increase in damages due to digging without contacting 811, so we determined it was time to quit warning folks and fine them in an effort to change their behaviors.”
When asked to identify the top violation in the state that resulted in
damages, Steven said his data (from complaints and from gas operators who are required to file reports annually) indicates that the top violation continues to be digging without a ticket. Common Ground Alliance (CGA) data suggests that when the call is made to 811 before digging, damages occur less than one percent of the time.
be working for or will be working
for in the future. While Louisiana’s enforcement program is directed at the gas and pipeline industry only, we do receive complaints from time to time stating that a water line or electric line has not been located. Of course, we do not have jurisdiction in those cases, but we do log in the complaint because we received it but does not fall within our authority to create any kind of enforcement action.”
When violations occur that requires training, Steven says, “It is important
to note that we haven’t mandated a specific type of training. There is a lot of good training (either online or face
to face) available. Louisiana 811 has some really good training programs available, and I’m encouraged that many take advantage of it. Additionally, organizations have excellent inhouse training. We’re good with that.”
In closing, what do you think is the next step in strengthening Louisiana’s damage prevention program? He
said, “Working through the dig law committee to identify specific issues that can be supported has worked well in the past. I think we have to continue to look at getting better at doing what we can already do. In either case, whether legislation is required or not, it will always require a commitment to work together.”
Any last thoughts, Steven? He said, “The damage prevention program
is really about preventing damages. Enforcement of the law is just a tool
we use. Education is also a tool. Both are designed to prevent damages. For the same reason, (preventing damages) we recently convened a first meeting with utilities to discuss how to have a more coordinated emergency response effort. The impact of hurricanes or tornadoes can be devastating, so how can we work together to get things back to normal without creating unnecessary frustration and delays? Because at the core of everything we do, it is about keeping the public safe and preventing damages.”
2022, Issue 2 Louisiana 811 • 19
Steven Giambrone Talks Enforcement
Steven reminds us that if anyone is found digging without a ticket (even if no damage occurs) enforcement action will be taken.
Can you give us a general breakdown of complaints? He said, “Good question. Most complaints come from the utility operators themselves. It
is also interesting that about 30% of the complaints will come from the public. Neighbors reporting something they believe is not right. And finally, the smallest number come from the excavators. Many of them are hesitant to report against a utility they may