Liberty Utilities BMP Natural Gas Distribution Partner Since 2017 Background Liberty Utilities owns and operates regulated water, wastewater, natural gas and electric transmission and distribution utilities, delivering responsive and reliable essential services to approximately 800,000 customers across the United States. Liberty Utilities provides a superior customer experience through walk-in customer centers, locally focused conservation and energy efficiency initiatives, and programs for customers. We measure our performance in terms of service reliability, customer experience, and an unwavering dedication to safety, „ Liberty Utilities C°""'°N Historical Highlights Grade 3 Leak Reduction in New Hampshire The Liberty NH team has proactively reduced the inventory backlog of 980 Grade 3 system gas leaks beginning in 2013 and steadily reduced it to an annual inventory backlog average of 88 leaks over the last three years an overall reduction of 892 Grade 3 Leaks. The drivers of the reductions are listed below: • Improvement of the leak management process, evaluating each leak location and eliminating duplicate recordings of the leaks. • Changes to the NH PUC 500 rules for classification of gas leaks, a substantial number of the Grade 3 leak backlog was reduced through the repair of leaks that would be reclassified to a Grade 2 during 2014 and 2015 and requiring repair. • A fair number of Grade 3 leaks were eliminated on leak prone pipe through the CIBS capital pipe replacement program. • Regularly repair Grade 3 leaks on streets where municipalities are performing pavement overlaying of their streets. Massachusetts Gas System Enhancement Program (GSEP) Since 2011, Liberty Utilities Massachusetts has participated in the Department of Public Utilities Gas Infrastructure Replacement Program (formerly Target Infrastructure Recovery Factor). This program addresses the replacement of aging/leak prone at an accelerated rate within a natural gas distribution system. From its participation, Liberty Utilities MA has replaced approximately 40 miles of leak prone infrastructure. EPA Form No. 5900 413 ------- Liberty Utilities Historical Fact Sheet Liberty's Empire District in Missouri Instrumental in Improving Excavator Communications Missouri Common Ground Alliance organization holds an annual excavator summit year which draws over 1500 participants, which comprise mostly of excavators. Excavators learn about damage prevention and how to dig safely. With over 60 hours of continuing education classes offered each year participates can complete their OSHA 10 requirement, confined space and excavation competent person, learn about heavy equipment safety and a lot more, including live excavation demonstrations and a locator "rodeo." One of Liberty Utilities' employees, Amber Adcock, has been a liaison for Missouri One Call for 19 years and has attended quarterly meetings and worked with the Missouri Common Ground Alliance for the past 8 years. She works closely with addressing issues between the excavator calling in and the Missouri One Call System. MISSOURI COMMON GROUND ALLIANCE Mid-States Active Leaks No More Old Pipe in Missouri Liberty Utilities Mid-States region has reduced active leaks from a high of 194 in January 2015 down to 111 as of July 1st 2017. We also completed our cast iron and bare steel replacement program for Missouri in 2016. We replaced 85,000 feet of cast iron and bare steel in the past 10 years in Missouri. 200 2015 2016 I 201? Georgia Distribution System is in Great Shape Liberty Utilities Georgia's Cast Iron/Bare Steel (CIBS) Replacement Projects replaced over 250 miles of leak-prone pipe over the last 15 years. LU-GA also has a program in place to repair all active leaks, this includes repairing Grade 3 leaks within 6 months. Annual leak totals have decreased from a peak of 1836 leaks in 2003 to a current 4-year average of 700 leaks per year. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection ot information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 14 hours per response. Send comments on the Agency s need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of automated collection techniques to the Director, Collection Strategies Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2822T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20460. Include the OMB control number in any correspondence. Do not send the completed form to this address. ------- |