WHEREAS there are numerous underground pipelines within the province of Alberta;AND WHEREAS not all owners of underground pipelines currently participate in Alberta First Call;AND WHEREAS unidentified underground pipelines are potentially an extreme safety hazard and have resulted in the death of some workers, within this province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties encourage all member municipalities to promote the need for service providers to become members of Alberta First Call;AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties encourage the Government of Alberta to implement legislation requiring all service providers utilizing underground facilities to utilize the services of Alberta First Call;AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties encourage the Government of Alberta to ensure mandatory inclusion of location mapping with easement registration with land titles as well as the inclusion of those maps with the land titles issued.

The Municipal District of Clear Hills is aware of a recent incident in which a Caterpillar operator lost his life as a result of hitting an unmarked underground gas line.Further, a Municipal District resident recently called Alberta First Call for a location, prior to commencing an excavation project. The resident was aware that in prior years a gas line had been installed across his quarter section, however, was uncertain of its exact location.Alberta First Call was not aware of the pipeline crossing, thus alerting the resident to a potentially critical situation, had he not personally been aware of an existing pipeline crossing. The information he required had to be obtained from the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board. While helpful, the information provided did not give exact locations of the existing pipelines.As time passes and property ownership changes, personal knowledge of underground pipelines is easily lost. To ensure personal safety, all service providers utilizing underground pipeline should be required to become members of Alberta First Call.