On April 27, 2011, an F5 tornado devastated Northern and Central Alabama, damaging everything in its path, including the Alabama 811 one-call center. The good news was that nobody was in the building at the time of the storm. The bad news is that the building was a total loss.

The implementation of Alabama 811’s crisis communication plan went into immediate effect after the tornado destroyed the one-call center. Within the first week, four customer service representatives were working out of Tennessee 811’s office with additional staff working from Texas 811 in the following weeks.

Many damage prevention stakeholders came to the aid of Alabama 811 and shared in the responsibility of maintaining continuity of service and supporting the employees and their families during an exceptionally difficult time – The Progressive Partnering (P2) Partners: Arkansas One Call, Mississippi 811, Tennessee 811, Texas 811, GulfSafe, Oklahoma One Call System, South Carolina 811, South Dakota 811, and Gopher State One Call; Alabama 811 members; and MISS DIG of Michigan.

For maintaining an excellent damage prevention program against the worst imaginable odds, CGA President Bob Kipp presented the 2011 CGA President’s Award to Alabama 811 at the CGA Annual Meeting in Las Vegas on March 7.

“While this year’s President’s Award bears the name of Alabama 811, it is fitting that Alabama 811’s rebuilding and recovery was aided by other damage prevention stakeholders.” said Kipp. “That’s because at CGA damage prevention is a shared responsibility, especially at the most critical times.”

“Congratulations to Alabama 811 on this prestigious award and your inspirational story in the face of adversity,” Kipp concluded.

ADPA Legislative Committee

The ADPA’s legislative committee is meeting to review federal legislative initiatives, which could have impact on Alabama’s damage prevention program and potential federal funding grants to the state.  The committee plans to develop and finalize a 3-5 year plan on how best for Alabama to move forward in its damage prevention program to ensure compliance with federal requirements and still focus on what is best for the citizens of Alabama.

Anyone interested in serving on this committee can contact Annette Reburn at areburn@al811.com.

Back in Business

Alabama 811 began operating out of their newly reconstructed facility on December 19, 2011 after having lost their building during the tornado that left so much destruction on April 27, 2011.  Alabama 811 would like to thank its members, excavators, other one call centers and MillWorks Construction for all their support, help and understanding as they implemented their business continuity plan and set up temporary operations waiting for the reconstructed building to be completed and their move finalized.

Legislative Update:

FEDERAL:  President Obama signs new legislation regarding Pipeline Safety:

http://fastlane.dot.gov/2012/01/president-obama-signs-pipeline-safety-bill.html

The Alabama Public Service Commission’s Gas Pipeline Safety Section, in cooperation with Alabama 811 and the Alabama Damage Prevention Alliance are hosting a series of damage prevention stakeholder meetings at various locations around the state.

The meetings are for elected officials, excavators, utility personnel, utility locators and everyone with ideas for protecting Alabama by protecting underground facilities. You are invited to join in the discussion and provide input for developing new legislation that will strengthen Alabama’s damage prevention law. Check the ADPA Calendar for a Regional ADPA Meeting near you and make your reservations by calling 334-242-5778 or email: Alabama Public Service Commission.

By Wallace Jones, Gas Pipeline Safety Administration, Alabama PSC

During the last year or so, a group of people, with a common interest, have been coming together under the name of the Alabama Damage Prevention Committee. The purpose of the group is to facilitate improvements in pipeline damage prevention. At its last meeting in April, the membership decided to change its name from the Alabama Damage Prevention Committee to the Alabama Damage Prevention Alliance. The membership decided to make this subtle, but meaningful, change because the term “Alliance” is more representative of the group’s purpose. Read the rest of this entry »