WASHINGTON GAS,
This website has been designed to help make you aware of Colonial’s pipeline in the area your excavation projects.  The information provided here will help keep you and others at WASHINGTON GAS safe.
Please take a look at the site and feel free to share with others on your team.
To see larger map, click PDF link in Library on the left
   
  • Warning Petroleum with 800 number

  • 811

Local Contact

Patrick Barnes
Associate ROW Inspector
(678) 708-2754
pbarnes@colpipe.com
Tim Mullins
ROW Supervisor
(434) 996-7715
tmullins@colpipe.com
Clyde "Jeff" Randolph
ROW Inspector II
(804) 614-6857
crandolph@colpipe.com
Chris Gibson
ROW Inspector II
(804) 233-4347
cgibson@colpipe.com







Safety Steps

5 Steps to Safe Excavation

Step 1: Locate the pipelines in your work area

Pipelines are the safest method of fuel transportation, but because most are buried underground they are virtually invisible.  You can view the approximate location of the transmission pipelines and obtain contact information for pipeline operators in your area by visiting the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) at www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov.
As required by federal law, Colonial posts yellow, black and red markers (pictured throughout this site), to reveal the approximate - NOT exact - location of pipelines, including all locations where pipelines pass beneath roads, rivers, streams, railroad tracks, etc.  These markers identify Colonial Pipeline as the operator, list the product being transported, and display Colonial's emergency phone number.  It is a federal offense to move, remove, or deface any pipeline marker.

Step 2: Always call 811 before you dig - it's the law!

Because pipeline markers are only approximate indicators, state laws require all excavators and contractors to call 811 -  the free, nationwide safe-digging number - to have underground utilities, including pipelines, accurately located and marked before any digging project begins.  By calling 811, waiting the required timeframe for lines to be marked and respecting those marks once digging begins, you can prevent costly - even deadly - project accidents.

  • Never depend on a pipeline marker to know where the pipeline is buried.  Always call 811 to have the pipeline located before digging.

 

Step 3: Maintain a safe dig zone
After you call 811, a Colonial Pipeline representative will schedule an on-site visit to review the planned dig and provide site-specific excavation requirements.  As a rule of thumb, Colonial always provides the following safe-digging requirements:

  • DO NOT begin any excavation near a Colonial Pipeline until a Colonial representative has been to the job site.
  • Use hand excavation for all digging within two feet of the pipeline.

 

Step 4: Recognize the warning signs and hazards of a leak
A petroleum product leak can be identified by any of the following:  dark oily patch on the ground, rainbow of film or sheen on water near a river/stream or lake, spots of dead vegetation, an exposed pipeline in a creek/river/stream, a vapor cloud (the result of fuel being released under pressure), an unusual hissing or roaring noise coming from the pipeline or near a marker, a strong odor or scent of gasoline or oil.

 

Step 5: Respond safely to a suspected leak
If you hit a Colonial pipeline or cause a leak, take the following actions to stay safe:

  • If possible without risk of injury, turn off any running equipment and eliminate any ignition source.  If not possible, abandon equipment and immediately leave the area on foot.
  • Move upwind of the suspected leak.  Refined petroleum product vapors are heavier than air.  Seek a higher location.
  • Do NOT use a telephone or cell phone, attempt to light a match, start a vehicle engine, turn an electrical appliance on or off, near the pipeline
  • Do NOT attempt to operate pipeline equipment or close valves; serious injury or an escalation in the emergency can result
  • Do NOT drive into a vapor cloud
  • When you are a safe distance away, call 911 FIRST to report the emergency - then call Colonial's 24-hour emergency number at 1-800-926-2728

 

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