Page 11 - Tennessee

IPIPE
PIPE Program Changes for 2024
Tennessee Public Awareness Meetings
Partners in Protecting Everyone
By Craig Ingram
Public Awareness Manager Tennessee811
Are there other options for collaborative programs?
The Paradigm Alliance (Paradigm) will continue to offer traditional liaison meetings that target emergency officials, public officials, and excavators for any operators who choose to sponsor and participate in their program. For more information, please contact Jim Bob Sims by email at jimbobs@pdigm.com.
Operators may also be interested in
the Tennessee Pipeline Emergency Responders Initiative (TN-PERI) offered through the Tennessee Fire Chief’s Association. TN-PERI is another collaborative effort, but excavators and public officials are not included in the target audience. The intent of TN- PERI is to offer in-depth training to firefighters and other first responders by sending certified trainers to their fire hall (or equivalent location).
For more information on TN-PERI, please contact Chief Ken Tuggle by email at kenneth.tuggle@gmr.net.
f you represent a natural gas
distribution company, interstate
transmission pipeline, or another
sponsor of the Partners In
Protecting Everyone (PIPE) Program, happy to attend and present excavator-
please take a moment to read this update on the future of collaborative liaison meetings in Tennessee.
What’s changing?
Effective this year, 2024, Tennessee 811 will no longer manage a collaborative liaison meeting program that provides invitation mailing, catering and venue booking, awareness surveying, and documentation hosting for the purpose of compliance with API RP 1162, 49 FR 192.616, and other related regulations.
Why the change?
We’ve been proud to plan and carry out PIPE Meetings for sponsors since 2003, but the regulatory landscape
has changed considerably in that time, and Tennessee 811 is no longer the best-equipped organization to assist operators with compliance in the areas of outreach to emergency and public officials.
We also continue to see a steady decline in attendance and overall return on investment for the PIPE Meetings – it seems the longstanding approach has run its course and is no longer effective.
Our organization’s mission focuses on excavation damage prevention, and we can best serve pipeline operators, and our other utility members, by focusing on excavator education and related outreach.
So, can we still partner with Tennessee 811 for excavator training?
Yes, we want to continue to be your Safe Digging Partner, just not in the same format as past PIPE Meetings. Tennessee 811 is ready and willing to provide excavator training in your region of the state, but we will no longer be taking a leading role in mailing invitations, booking caterers and venues, or providing awareness
focused materials. We will also be happy to provide guidance on meeting logistics, and support by communicating with other area operators who may be interested in partnering with you for the training opportunity.
We will also plan and carry out, with the support of member utilities and other stakeholders, a limited number
of excavation safety events around the state. These events will not be limited to pipeline safety education and will not necessarily be designed with regulatory compliance in mind, but sponsorship and participation in these events
could still be an effective piece of your broader outreach campaigns.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Damage Prevention Liaison for your area or send me an email at cingram@tennessee811.com.
surveys and other documentation.
If you would like to set up a training opportunity in your area, we will be
Kathy Quartermaine
FEBRUARY 29, 2024
11:30 AM - 2:00 PM CST
ABC Greater TN
560 Royal Pkwy Nashville, TN 37214
Drop-in as your schedule allows. Refreshments will be provided.
Please join us in Nashville
on Kathy’s last day to show our thanks for 27 years of service, and to wish her well in retirement.
RSVP
2024, Issue 1
Tennessee811 • 9