This reference letter has been developed in order to provide you with information on how to eliminate contact with underground-buried facilities.

Gas pipelines, fibre optic cable, waterworks, electrical, and other facilities are all buried at varying depths. All facility owners are concerned about the potential for human injury or fatality, and property damage when any underground facility is struck.

In the pages that follow you will find:
Part 32 of the Occupational Health and Safety Code

1. Appendix 1 – Section 447 - Locating buried facilities
2. Appendix 2 - Section 448 - Exposing buried facilities.

Please review these regulations and ensure both yourself and your workers understand completely their responsibilities under the legislation.

Prior to any ground disturbance work, an employer and worker are obligated to contact the facility owner and ensure all buried facilities are located and exposed. Many facilities owners belong to the Alberta One-Call Corporation at www.alberta1call.com and can be contacted through this resource. Contact can be made by:

Telephone: 1-800-242-3447
Fax: 1-800-940-3447, or
Internet: Alberta One-Call Corporation at www.alberta1call.com

Once contacted, Alberta One-Call will send information to each facility owner about your intended ground disturbance. Each facility owner will then process the request to determine if a field visit is required. If so, a representative will be sent to the site to locate and mark the underground facility. If not, an 'all clear to proceed' will be communicated with the requesting party. The locate request will attempt to be completed within two full working days, however excavation cannot begin until all locates are complete. Please remember that not all facility owners belong to the Alberta One-Call Corporation. You must carefully determine if any other potential underground facilities are buried in or near the proposed work area, and contact the facility owner directly.

Prior to any activity, check with facility owners for their specific requirements when working in the area.

Mechanical excavation equipment is not permitted within hand expose zone until the buried facility has been exposed to sight by hand digging or another non-destructive technique acceptable to the owner of the buried facility. Failure to do so will result in noncompliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Code, and place both workers and property at risk.

By conducting your work activities in accordance with the legislation, the health and safety of workers on your worksite will be enhanced, and the number of buried utility contact incidents and potential for personal injury and property damage will be reduced. If you have any questions regarding ground disturbance safe work practices, please contact Alberta One-Call Corporation at 1-800-242-3447 or Workplace Health and Safety at 1-866-415-8690.

Appendix 1 - Section 447 - Locating Buried Facilities

Part 32 - Excavating and Tunneling

1. Before the ground is disturbed at a work site, an employer must
   1. contact the owner of
      1. a pipeline that is within 30 metres of the work site, and
      2. any other buried facility that may be affected by the ground disturbance,
   2. advise the owner of the proposed activities,
   3. ask the owner to identify and mark the location of the buried facility, and
   4. not begin disturbing the ground until buried facilities have been identified and their locations marked.
2. An employer must ensure that workers are aware of locate marks for buried facilities.
3. An employer must ensure that steps are taken to re-establish the locate marks for buried facilities if activities at the work site move or destroy the locate marks.
4. Despite subsection (1), an employer may use as-built record drawings of the buried facilities for locating the buried facilities if
   1. the work does not require excavation or removal of soil or ground, and
   2. the ground is penetrated to a depth of 1 metre of less.

Appendix 2 - Section 448 - Exposing Buried Facilities

1. An employer must ensure that work with mechanical excavation equipment is not permitted within the hand expose zone of a buried facility until the buried facility has been exposed to sight
   1. by hand digging,
   2. by a non-destructive technique acceptable to the owner of the buried facility, or
   3. by a method equivalent to clause (a) or (b).
2. Despite subsection (1), an employer may use mechanical excavation if
   1. the only buried facility is an electrical cable or conduit that is grounded and isolated so that its disconnection is visible,
   2. the owner of the electrical cable or conduit is notified of the operation before it begins,
   3. the buried facility is not longer in use,
   4. the owner of the buried facility gives the employer written consent to excavate or remove the facility, and
   5. the employer ensure that excavating or removing the buried facility does not present a hazard.
3. An employer may reduce the width of a hand expose zone for a high pressure pipeline to within 1 metre on each side of the pipeline locate marks if
   1. the high pressure pipeline is not governed by the Pipeline Act, and
   2. the employer obtains written approval from the owner of the high pressure pipeline.
4. If the ground that will be disturbed lies within a pipeline right-of-way, an employer must
   1. contact the operator or licensee of the pipeline, and
   2. get their consent to disturb the ground.
5. An employer must not allow the use of mechanical excavation equipment within 600 millimetres of a buried pipeline, a direct bury trunk or a toll fibre optic cable unless the use of the equipment is under the direct supervision of a representative of the owner of the buried pipeline, direct bury trunk or toll fibre optic cable.
6. An employer must ensure that any exposed buried facilities are protected and supported so that workers are not injured.
7. If a pipeline is exposed during a work operation, an employer must notify the pipeline operator or licensee before backfilling the excavation.

Source: Occupational Health and Safety Code

Steps to Damage Prevention

1. Complete a hazard assessment to determine all the potential underground facilities within the proposed work area
2. Contact all facility owners through ALBERTA ONE CALL (1-800-242-3447) or direct contact with the facility owner
3. If possible, meet the locator on site to ensure the work area is well identified
4. Ensure the work area marked matches your intended ground disturbance
5. If the work area changes new locates will have to be obtained
6. Review the locate slips with workers and complete a site specific hazard assessment
7. Hand expose all underground facilities