BC Common Ground Alliance

Utility Locating and Damage Investigation Webinars

cheryl — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:02:30 +0000

Excavation Safety University is offering two courses in May:

Damage Investigation Webinar - Tuesday May 22nd at 8 am PST, 2 hours, $125

For Additional Information and to Register CLICK HERE

Utility Locating Webinar Series - Thursday May 24th at 8 am PST, 5 hours, $375

For Additional Information and to Register CLICK HERE

Harper Plan for Responsible Resource Development Includes Provisions for Monetary Penalties

cheryl — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:50:38 +0000

The Harper Government announced its Plan for Responsible Resource Development on April 17, 2012. For the transmission pipeline industry, the Plan includes provisions of monetary penalties for violations of the National Energy Board Act.

For the first time, authorizing the use of administrative monetary penalties for violations of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and the National Energy Board Act. These penalties will be designed to address small contraventions quickly so that larger issues do not arise in the future. Further details on the penalties will be available once legislation is introduced.

The proposed penalties could range from $25,000 to a maximum of $100,000 for violations of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, and the National Energy Board Act, while the range of penalties under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will be established through regulations.

Contractor Breakfast – Wednesday April 18, 2012 at 7 am – LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER

cheryl — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:20:30 +0000

Planning to break ground this year? We want to buy you breakfast!

High voltage lines, oil and gas pipelines, water, sewer and telecom lines lie in vast networks underground. The consequences of damage to buried infrastructure can be devastating.

We are pleased to announce the first all-company Contractor Breakfast. Sponsored by owners and operators of buried facilities in the Lower Mainland, our BC Common Ground Alliance and the Regulators, this safety meeting will bring together people who from all ground disturbance professions. From Labourers to Locators, from CEOs to Contractors – no matter what level, if you’re involved with ground disturbance in any way, you should be at this event.

ACTION: We have a large venue and want it filled, so bring your entire team for the Breakfast. Even those answering your company phone will benefit from attending. Breakfast is FREE, and we’ll share important safety information, along with a hot meal and prizes.

ACTION: We encourage you to invite 20 to 30 others to join you for a free breakfast. You invite them to a safety information meeting, we pay for breakfast and you look like heroes!

Wednesday, April 18^th,2012

7:00 to 8:00 am

Sheraton Vancouver Guilford Hotel

15269 – 104^th Avenue, Surrey, BC V3R 1N5

Hot Breakfast…Prizes….Business Card Draw

This event is for providing important safety information. It is not a sales or recruiting event.

Register online by Friday April 13^th.

Notice of Annual General Meeting – April 12th – Reminder

cheryl — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:30:01 +0000

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on April 12, 2012 from 11 am to 3:15 pm at Spectra Energy, 1100 – 1055 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC.

The Agenda and Minutes from last year are available for your reference.

** Please note that members must have paid membership dues (2012) and be in attendance to be eligible to vote and/or stand for election and/or retain Board seat.

Best Practice Committee – Call for Members

cheryl — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:50:06 +0000

On behalf of Andrew Mark, Chair of the Best Practice Committee, we are about to begin work on Best Practices Version 3.0. If you are interested in participating in the development of Best Practices in BC, please email cheryl@commongroundbc.ca by April 18th. Time and location of the first meeting will be announced shortly.

Advanced Underground Cable & Pipe Locating Seminar

cheryl — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:05:30 +0000

Two of our members, Linestar Utility Supply Inc. and Vivax Metrotech, are offering an Advanced Underground Cable and Pipe Locating Seminar following our Contractor Breakfast on April 18th at the Sheraton Vancouver Guilford Hotel.

For detailed information on the Learning Objectives, Agenda and Registration, please see their brochure.

April is Safe Digging Month…

cheryl — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:09:34 +0000

April is Safe Digging Month. Please help raise awareness by including the Safe Digging Month banner on your website and in your email tag line.

We would love to buy you and your team breakfast on April 18th in Surrey at our Contractors Breakfast. For more information, see the ad on our homepage – please register online.

We have also completed a number of Toolbox Meeting Guides that are available on our website.

CRTC Denies CCGA Application for Shared Use of 811

cheryl — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:45:31 +0000

It is with disappointment that the CCGA, its Regional Partners across Canada and its National Stakeholders, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association and the Canadian Gas Association, announce the CRTC decision to deny our application for shared use of the 811 dialling code. For a Telecom proceeding, our application generated an unprecedented level of positive response from coast to coast. With that in mind, we remain confident there is a strong public desire to simplify access to One Call systems in Canada enhancing the integrity of our buried critical infrastructure and above all, better protecting public, worker and Community Safety. To that end, the CCGA and its partners are reviewing the CRTC’s decision and considering next steps.

Click the link below to see the CRTC’s decision:

English

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-167.htm

Francais:

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/fra/archive/2012/2012-167.htm

Register as a BC company and Submit 2011 DIRT Data by March 31st!

cheryl — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:28:16 +0000

BCCGA now has a Virtual Private DIRT so that we can take the data that you already enter into the CGA system and produce a report just for BC…We are starting to build our British Columbia user community. British Columbia companies are encouraged to register with BCCGA’s Virtual Private DIRT at: http://www.cga-dirt.com/bc.

If you are new to DIRT or a regular submitter, visit www.cga-dirt.com today to submit your data. Ensure your data is included as part of BCCGA and CGA’s analysis and report for 2011 by submitting prior to the March 31st deadline.

NEB Releases Damage Prevention Framework

cheryl — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:18:05 +0000

The National Energy Board released its Damage Prevention Framework on February 29, 2012. The framework is made up of a number of regulatory tools which establish the NEB’s mandate, describe requirements for pipeline companies and people planning activities near pipelines, and provide guidance on how to work safely. The NEB’s Compliance and Enforcement Initiative supports this framework and is used to promote safety and environmental protection.