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APGA Presents to the Damage Prevention Awareness Committee

By Stuart Saulters posted 9 days ago

  
On August 22, APGA staff presented to the Damage Prevention Awareness Committee (DPAC). Given APGA’s leadership on federal legislative efforts, the leader of the group reached out to have APGA staff present a summary of recent legislative actions and how the multiple grants and funding opportunities can impact damage prevention efforts. This group is mainly composed of investor-owned utilities, but they had connected to APGA staff through LinkedIn, so it was a beneficial opportunity to step up and share.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are significant legislative efforts passed in recent years. They contain significant amounts of money for broadband deployment, as well as to replace or install new water and wastewater infrastructure. There is also money for electric utilities to move their power lines underground. Not to mention the Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety Modernization (NGDISM) Grant Program that many APGA members have received funding through. All of this money is for projects that will require underground excavation. The DPAC appreciated the overview of what all work could occur to ensure they are prepared as possible to adequately deploy resources to prevent incidents.

In addition to what has passed, APGA staff gave an update on some pending legislation. Notably, there was an update and overview shared on the legislation to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Some of the provisions in the bill drafted by the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee related to damage prevention, so that was of particular interest to the DPAC. 

APGA staff believes it is valuable to be a part of these type of events and will continue to do so. Please contact APGA staff if you are interested in having APGA present.

For questions on this article, please contact Stuart Saulters of APGA staff by phone at 202-544-1334 or by email at ssaulters@apga.org.

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