Page 3 - AR811 2023 issue 1

Publisher’s Perspective
The 2023 Arkansas Damage Prevention Summit is now in the rearview mirror. But the impact of the Summit doesn’t have to be. Over and over, we heard from attendees, this was the best Arkansas Summit to date.
Sessions that dealt with safety and enforcement seemed to resonate with the majority of attendees and that makes sense for a lot of reasons. SB-297 was filed during the same timeframe as the Summit. The irony and timing was not lost on me. While stakeholders across the state were focused on how best to work together to create fair and effective enforcement, this bill was introduced and according to a show of hands, very few people knew it existed until it was filed.
When PHMSA sent out the 9 elements of a fair and effective
enforcement program many years ago, the process included and
required enhanced communication, sharing perspectives and
working together. During the Summit, we learned that a group of stakeholders filed a bill (SB- 297) that if passed, may have an impact on enforcement and even the way stakeholders work on a daily basis. You need to know what it says and the potential impact it will have.
The Arkansas 811 Magazine is printing for your convenience SB-297 as it was filed in this issue. It begins on page 4. As you view it, the strikethrough text is original text that is deleted. The underlined text is the new text added to this bill. The text that is neither strikethrough nor underlined is the original text that is being left in the bill. It is being reprinted exactly as it was filed. It has been introduced in committee and of course there will be the opportunity for comments before the legislature considers whether or not it should become law.
Should it become law, what then? Is it fair and effective? We may not know the answer to that for some time, but here is one thing I’ve heard at the federal level many times. Exemptions are not fair if the exemption is for an organization. In other words, exemptions are possible for work types, but exempting an organization from complying with the dig law is neither fair nor effective. Read the bill for yourself and decide whether Arkansas is moving forward or just moving.
I’ve learned over the years by working with stakeholders who build such programs that long-term success is determined by whether we have the patience to build relationships that can only be built on mutual trust and respect. If stakeholders perceive we have more interest in protecting our turf than in listening to their perspective, I am convinced we’ll find they don’t much care about corporate liability, legal maneuvering or where we’re employed. I’m convinced the loss of trust will create a barrier that will prove to be difficult to overcome.
From excavator to regulator and from operator to legislator, let’s work diligently every day to earn the trust of our citizens.
This bill shows there is interest in creating better enforcement. Our success in creating fair and effective enforcement will depend on getting people involved with an infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done.
Roger Cox President ACTS Now, Inc.
2023, Issue 1 Arkansas 811 Magazine • 1