“Unmarked Sewer Lines: A Problem?”

1. “NPL Quality – The Pipeline To Success” DCA Mid Year Meeting Sun Valley, Idaho July 21th, 2006 “Unmarked Sewer Lines: A Problem?” Mike Kemper, NPL Construction Company

2. “THE OFTEN FORGOTTEN UNDERGROUND WORLD”

3. More & More Utilities Are Installed Using Trenchless Technology

4. Do We Have a Problem? Who’s responsible for marking? Sewer Main Lateral to mains connection Installed line House City street Property line What could happen?

6. What happens when a sewer line is hit during trenchless operations? What happens when a plumber is called?

7. Utility Service line + Sewer Line + Cutting Auger = Disaster

8. Headline:February 15, 2002 Officials Seek Answers In Gas Explosion

9. Headline:February 16, 2002Shocked Gas Company Pleads Ignorance • A plumbing contractor was removing tree roots from a sewer line in the 127 unit mobile home park when the gas line was breached. • The natural gas explosion that rocked a mobile home park shocked officials who said they never knew their gas line bisected the clay sewer pipe. • Operations Manager with the Local Gas Company: “About the only time we know about sewer lines is when people call because they get backed up and have to call someone in to clean them.”

10. Headline:March 13, 2006Woman, Granddaughters Barely Escape Explosion

11. Headline:March 17, 2006Answers in Gas Home Explosion • The subcontractor the Local Gas Company hired to install new gas lines ran a gas line into a sewer line. The augur went “right through the gas pipe and they didn’t even know they had done that.” - Fire Marshall • Fire Chief: A plumber used an auger to unclog a sewer line and accidentally hit a gas line. When he saw bubbles in the water & smelled gas, he told a grandmother & 3 grandkids to get out of the home immediately, likely saving lives.

12. Headline:March 18, 2006Investigation Absolves Plumber of Explosion • As soon as they got out of the home, it blew up. • City Building Inspector: “The plumber did absolutely nothing wrong. He had no way of knowing …” • The contractor did the work like any other contractor… There’s no system to know exactly where sewers are, especially to a house on a hill. They’re pretty good at it, but it’s a complicated process …”

13. The Explosion Aftermath • The City issued a halt on all directional drilling in the city. • City Inspectors say this affects more than residents of their own city.

14. Your State? Your Job?

15. It’s not just about Gas Tom Anderson of Lincoln, NE states: "Big problem. Plumbers who hit high voltage electric lines while cleaning a sewer clog do not have time to run. Hitting a gas or water line at least gives a person a chance to run, but hit electric, and you are shocked."

16. The dangers of cross-bored sewer lines exist in every neighborhood

17. Commercial Building School Residential Home Mobile Home Park Apartment Complex

18. How often does this happen?

19. Minnesota • 27 incidents reported to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

20. Palo Alto, CA Case Study • 4 Blocks Were Inspected; • 24 Hits Were Discovered.

21. What are the odds?Another Case Study: 11,000 Laterals Were Inspected; 250 Hits Identified And Repaired; 2% of Sewer Laterals Were Hit. How Many Might Have Led To AMajor Incident?

22. The Exposure LOW FREQUENCYHIGH SEVERITY

23. High Severity • Catastrophic Human Tragedy • Huge Property Costs

24. THE GREATEST CONCERN CATASTROPHIC PERSONAL LOSSES Because Some Utility Lines Are EXEMPT FROM LOCATING LAWS

25. Who pays the property costs? • Contractors and Utilities are often held responsible for hitting these unmarked, unknown utility lines; • As the insurance industry is rapidly becoming aware of this exposure, insurance rates are on the rise and the ability to secure insurance for trenchless technology is becoming in jeopardy.

26. THE ROOT CAUSE: A CATCH 22 • Crews have no practical way of finding them & are often even prohibited from checking for them due to governmental no-cut policies. • The laws in many States do not require all privately-owned & some publicly-owned sewer facilities to be marked. • The laws in some States are not well enforced.

27. THE CHALLENGE • Most states are only now starting to address the issue. • There is little awareness of the issue outside the contracting and insurance industries. • Our liability exposure is escalating each year as more trenchless installations are done & the costs of claims keeps rising.

28. “Houston, we have a problem” -Tom Hanks in Apollo 13

29. “Luck is not a strategy” Steve Ewing Chairman AGA Vice Chair, DTE Energy

30. What is our strategy? • Do we have one? • Is the DCA part of the solution? • How could the DCA help?

31. "The onlything necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

32. What it takes in each State • A local Champion(s) • Political expertise (available for hire) • About $50,000 • Other committed individuals • Organizational support (NUCA, DCA …)

33. Alabama Colorado Alaska Connecticut Arizona Delaware Arkansas Florida California Georgia

34. Hawaii Kansas Idaho Kentucky Illinois Louisiana Indiana Maine Iowa Maryland

35. Massachusetts Montana Michigan Nebraska Minnesota Nevada Mississippi New Hampshire Missouri New Jersey

36. New Mexico Oklahoma New York Oregon North Carolina Pennsylvania North Dakota Rhode Island Ohio South Carolina

37. South Dakota Virginia Tennessee Washington Texas West Virginia Utah Wisconsin Vermont Wyoming

38. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE!

39. “NPL Quality – The Pipeline To Success” We Will Win!