Page 10 - AL811 2023 issue 1

Alabama 811 And Paradigm Form New Partnership
To Further Enhance Pipeline Public Awareness For Emergency Responders,
Officials and Excavators In Alabama
By McKay Lyvers Alabama 811
PACT &
For the past 18 years, Alabama 811’s APACT (Alabama Public Awareness Cooperative Training) program has provided natural gas and pipeline product operators in the state with a way to help meet their public awareness and education goals. Each year, emergency responders, excavators and public officials statewide are invited
to an annual regional meeting where the operators have an opportunity
to educate on how to live and work safely around their facilities, how
to utilize the 811 system, and how to respond if a release or incident were
to occur. This free education training and meal are provided in 17 different cities across Alabama annually. We encourage all excavators to attend,
and we also encourage city leaders across the state to encourage your local utility operators, public works crews, and emergency response groups to attend. This annual training provides critical education opportunities, but also provides a face-to-face opportunity to build relationships and exchange contact information that could beneficial in the future. I always say that “The first time that you meet and
interact with these pipeline operators should not be at the site of an incident”.
Over the years, we have always looked for opportunities to adapt and improve. For 2023, we believe we have made
a very significant improvement, and APACT has formed a partnership with another public awareness entity who has been providing similar training in Alabama. For many years, Paradigm,
a leading public awareness provider operating in 48 states, has held additional public awareness meetings
in Alabama. Both programs always operated during different times of
the year as to ensure that all target audiences had the opportunity to attend and interact with both, as different pipeline operators were involved. Beginning in 2023, Alabama 811 and Paradigm are moving forward with
a partnership to combine meetings, operators and resources to provide a unified training program.
Alabama 811’s APACT program will continue to operate, and Paradigm will be dissolving their face-to-face meetings in the state, and stepping into a new role of providing the back-end support, registration and documentation for
the APACT program. We both believe this will be a mutually beneficial partnership that should breathe some new life in to the program, provide
an even better product for everyone, and provide Paradigm’s high-quality documentation back to the operators.
For those of you that have attended APACT meetings in the past, you won’t notice much of a change beyond the website, which will now have additional features not previously provided, the mailed invitation and a slightly different registration system. We encourage each of you to take advantage of this free training and opportunity to help build relationships with your local gas and pipeline operators in your areas.
If you should have any question on
the program, and how it could be beneficial to you, your company and crews, please don’t hesitate to reach out to McKay Lyvers at mlyvers@al811.com or 205.731.3207. We are encouraged, excited and ready to roll out the new program!
Meeting dates and locations are in the process of being confirmed to be held July through September and will be updated on the APACT website at www. al.pipeline-awareness.com.
8 • Alabama 811 2023, Issue 1