CONCLUSION
The Serendipitous History of Colorado’s Senate Bill 18-167
Part 4 by James H. Anspach
One of the key players in any legislative effort is the Office of the Governor and its priorities. Governor Hickenlooper, a geologist and businessman, was concerned over explosions due to damaged natural gas lines during construction. A recent incident called the Firestone Explosion killed several innocent bystanders, and so utility construction safety was on his mind. He had several meetings to see what could be done, and GENERALLY was in support of Sen. Scott’s initiative. As the noise of utility initiatives continued to grow, Jim Anspach was able to gather Gov. Hickenlooper’s ear regarding ASCE 38, issues with Sen. Scott’s solution, and in general received support from the Governor.
While all of these different stakeholders were being courted, Sen. Ray Scott continued on with his campaign to get his revised legislation to a vote. Eventually, the bill passed both chambers and was signed into act by Gov Hickenlooper on May 25, 2018, and became enforceable on August 8, 2018.
IN GENERAL TERMS, THE COLORADO LEGISLATION SAYS THAT ANY PUBLIC PROJECT OF SIZE THAT INCLUDES EXCAVATION OR BORING, MUST TRY TO ACHIEVE QLB ON ANY AND ALL UTILITIES WITHIN THE PROJECT LIMITS, UNLESS AN ENGINEER DECIDES IT IS UNNECESSARY.
The Colorado Attorney General’s office subsequently ruled that SUE plans and reports must be signed and sealed by a Professional Engineer (PE). CDOT took the position that any project, including utility accommodation projects in their rights-of way that required permits, fell under this legislation.
Many people contributed to the success of this effort, and it really was not part of any master plan on anyone’s part. It really was knowing and getting all the right people to the table at the same relative time period with a solution that worked for everyone. It could, and should, work in every state to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of issues surrounding existing buried utilities.
THANK YOU, JIM ANSPACH, FOR PREPARING THIS PRESENTATION AND FOR ALLOWING ME TO POST IT.
More information about Colorado’s Senate Bill 18-167 and a copy of the bill itself can be found at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb18-167.
A PowerPoint presentation by Andrew Sylvest (Utility Engineering Operations Manager, SAM Family of Companies) contains more information about the workings and implementation of Colorado’s Senate Bill 18-167 and can be found at Q7_2_SB-18-167-Presentation (steamboatsprings.net).