I didn't call 811, and then hit a gas line!

[OTO X58]

Man, I really did it this time!

I dug a shallow ditch to bury a 4” drainage pipe, to help reduce the erosion on my side yard. Everything went fine, and literally when I was almost done with the job and putting tools away, I did it. You know how after you’re done digging you spear the shovel in the ground to hold it up? I did that, right into a gas line.

It split, and gas started hissing out. I called 911 and the local FD showed up with a vice grip to pinch it off in like 5 minutes (small mountain town- they’re very nearby). PG&E came out later that day and re-pinched it with a 4 foot long grounded clamp. And then 2 other HUGE PG&E trucks came out to repair it. They basically stuck a coupler on the split line, sort of like push-to-connect fittings like when you run a water line to an ice maker.

The plastic gas line was 6” deep. I measured it afterwards. Everyone that was here, FD and PG&E commented that it’s insane that the line was that shallow. They also said the line is 50+ years old and they usually are supposed to replace those lines when they encounter them. I’m glad they didn’t. Because they probably would have charged me for trenching.

1 week later, I got a call from PG&E’s 811 guy. He scolded me, I agreed, I also let him know that I did get an 811 ticket after the fact. Too late, but he said that would get me brownie points. He verified that I wasn’t using power equipment, just a garden shovel. He also verified that I wasn’t a contractor, just a home owner. He asked how deep I dug, I said 8” tops, and he said the report he got verified that. He hinted that this would probably not result in a big fine, just a first and final warning.

Well, 2 months later, I just got the bill. $3300 due in 30 days.

I’m going to call and see if they can reduce that in any way, but I have a feeling I’ll be stuck with it. After all, I did screw up. Seems a bit excessive to me, but again, I did screw up.

Depth of the gas line. maybe more like only 4" deep?

Sorry for the small pic.. this is just the gas line pinched by the FD with a vice grip.

View from the top of the hill looking down. You can see the vice grip and line at the bottom right.. again, sorry about the tiny pic.

All for this dumb little drain.

The Bill

Moral of the story- call 811 even if you're just digging a hole to plant a bush. You're legally on the hook if you hit a utility, and you can't count on them being 18" deep like they're supposed to be.
_________________
-Thomas

RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
1958 Ragtop Bug Build - Subaru Swap!
1957 Gazelle Beige Ghia FOR SALE
1957 Dove Blue Kombi field find

[Letterman7]

I"d argue that the line wasn't to code to begin with, so it's on PG&E to fix it at their expense since it was (probably) them that installed it in the first place. Gas lines here are supposed to be 48" below grade to prevent just that very thing from happening. Every state is different, of course, but I'd start with the local zoning officer to get his take. All utilities have to abide by state codes - doesn't matter how old the line is.

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[my59]

Where is the meter?
Typically homeowner responsible from meter into rest of house, gas co from street to meter....
I endorse the not to code installation so eff your fine and come replace the line to code. 4" under grade, hell it would have been safer if the line was lying on the ground.
I'll bet the company has a stable of contractors that do their installations " to code"
Drag the town in, the code official is typically supposed to inspect plumbing lines prior to burial.
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[cbeck]

Nobody likes lawyers until you need one. Maybe a good one would get money into your pocket. You here the stories of burglars hurting themselves on your property and winning a judgement. Did you draw any blood?
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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[mark tucker]

yup do some checken to find out who is on the hook for it.
my brother and I were cutting some big pines out of his back yard years ago.had his toyota truck tied to one about 30' high tree was probably 50' I was cutten he was pullen to keep it off the house...there was a very narrow margin of error this house or that house.no problem Ive fell a good few trees... well the tree went down as planed right on target, missed everything...but my brother managed to wack the gas meter somehow with the truck or his big feet I dont remember. broke it off in the ground. and out came the gass. so i called 911 and informed them to send out the gas company...well they sent out the gas company, 3 fire stations,3 ambulances,emts, sherriffs....hell I think the mayor may of been there.. i had already pluged the leek with a pine stick I whittled down real fast and stabed in there. they said oh that wont doo!!! so they got out all thier tools and plugs...and effed with it for 45m trying to stop the leek....then they stuck my stick back in and said that will do till the next day when they could run a new line. I think it was just a boring week and everybody wanted to get out for a while. we were doing more shit shooting than anything. the next day that cam and put in new line and meter.no charge...of coarse we told them I hit it with a bycycle. pushing it.....we had put away all the tools& chain saws before they got there and cut the tree up and pulled it outa sight. it's amazing how fast you can work when you need to moral of the story??? clean up fast and tell them you smell a leek or the kid hit it with his bike...or ball!!!! and know how to whittle fast too.

[mark tucker]

on another note...if I have a shovel or pitchfork in my hand I can find every sprinkler line/pvc pipe in my yard in 30 min or less....and my wife will testify to that. I think the pitchfork works like a devining rod

[CanStan]

That sucks. Sorry about your luck. But I’m betting if you want to get a lawyer involved, you’ll spend $5000 trying to get out of this $3300, with no guarantees. I guess it depends if the principle is more important than the fine.
Hopefully, though, you’ll be able to explain your way out of this one on your own. Things happen. That could have happened to anyone.

My local gas company will actually do the math to figure out the pressure and size of line, as well as the amount of time it leaked before it was shut down. Then they use that to calculate the amount you owe for the wasted gas, on top of the mapping / digging / service call fees for coming out.

[Chickensoup]

[finster]

[grandpa red]

6 years ago my friend was building my garage and was trenching for the power line coming from the house.
Sure as shit he hit a gas line.He called PG&E they got here quickly and fixed the line.
He was sent a bill for $1600.
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'72 Beetle

[volksaddict]

...eat a bag of dicks
Thanks for the laugh Skills

[Q-Dog]

Is it possible the pipe was originally installed deeper and the erosion you are trying to stop also affected the area where the pipe is buried?
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[crukab]

Copper pipe for a underground Gas line ???????? That itself seems pretty lame, what is "code" for that pipe ??
_________________
Tom

My Pops:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604100&highlight=
I know you will always be with me, rest in peace with no more pain. 8/13/14.....

In the yard right now:
'51 Dodge 5 window truck
'65 Bug
'66 Singlecab
'82 Rabbit Truck Diesel from CALI
'86 Doublecab W/T
'91 Vanagon carat/wolfsbrg.Tiico
'88 Dodge Ram pickup
'11 Jetta Wagon

[67 Florida Deluxe]

That's unconscionable! Looks like PG&E is trying to make up for losses after it burned down northern California a couple years ago.
_________________
-Kent (BaT "daleallen")

OG member of the '67 Posse

A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental

[Cusser]

About 20 years ago my friend was installing shelves into his closet off master bedroom, drilling into the wooden studs. Yep, he drilled into a natural gas line by pure random bad luck. Hissing, mercaptan smell from the natural gas.

Yep, fire department evacuated the neighborhood, and he did get a substantial bill from the utility company.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[hazetguy]

[finster]

^^^ he's protected by the proper use of an apostrophe! case closed your honour!
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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[Zundfolge1432]

I detect a note of hostility towards utility companies in general. Question if an individual damages part of the system should they escape any responsibility because it was an accident? That’s not a legal defense nor should the cost of repairing said damage be passed on to other customers. If you wanted to be able to skate on things like this maybe look into getting an umbrella policy which would cover any and all liability situations.

To the poster that mentioned copper pipe used. Code enforcement varies widely, I’ve even seen clay pipe used to connect the sewage line to city service. As you can imagine they collapse after 25 to 30 years and guess who pays ? I like marks idea of claiming total ignorance, that could work. I had a similar situation a few years back when I hit a gas line with the lawn mower. I just called in saying I smelled gas and gave no other details. The break was underground and I never heard another word about it, lucky me.

[mark tucker]

Ive called the no dig number many times. almost every time I dig.... I wonder if they would come fix my sprinklers next time??? if so they may run out of splices or fittings as I did