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SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

A branch of engineering practice that manages certain risks associated with subsurface utilities via: utility mapping at appropriate quality levels, utility coordination, utility relocation design and coordination, utility condition assessment.

(American Society of Civil Engineers / Federal Highway Administration / So-Deep definition - Jan. 2000).

SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING POWER POINT PRESENTATION

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING

The unabridged version of an article titled “SUE Applies Engineering, Surveying and Geophysics to Damage Prevention,” Underground Focus Magazine, September 1997.

This issue is concentrating on subsurface utility engineering. As such, it is fitting that we take this space to talk about the origins and key developments, a history if you will, of this rapidly growing field of engineering. There are many contributions to the development of SUE. We have tried to touch on what we believe are significant events, people, and highlights. For those persons and/or firms not mentioned that may have contributed something significant, we offer our apologies up front.

Henry “Garon” Stutzman is regarded as the “inventor” and prime force behind many of the ideas and concepts of subsurface utility engineering. Mr. Stutzman was working as relocation engineer for Washington Gas Light during the heyday of construction activity in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area in the 1970s. He became convinced that the traditional methods of dealing with utilities (which, despite the growing acceptance of SUE, have not changed all that much) were wasting the money of the rate payer and taxpayer (in other words, You and Me). He was aware of the advantages of air/vacuum systems for safe excavation and exposure of gas systems for anode emplacement. The spark of the idea that this safe excavation method could be used to gather data on the exact location of a utility during the design stage, coupled with his great energy, caused him to leave WGL. Garon, along with the financial backing of a Washington area contractor, W.R. Owens, formed So-Deep, Inc. {Although the acronym (Stutzman - Owens Dependable, Efficient Engineering Practices) is descriptive, perhaps the real reason the name came into being was that when contractors asked the gas company how deep their gas line was, the inevitable answer was “It’s so deep.”} Michael E. Rice, an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Specialist assigned to the Secret Service, became So-Deep’s first employee in April of 1981.

In 1982, the County of Fairfax, Virginia entered into a contract with So-Deep for “Locating” (test holes). This was the nation’s first instance of a governmental body entering into a task-order basis contract for locating of utilities. Finding utilities within an 8 inch window proved to be challenging in the old urban environment around Washington. More and more water and gas lines were made out of non-conductive materials and frequently multiple utilities were in close proximity to each other. Garon and Mike had been attending classes in utility locating techniques given by James H. Anspach, a Penn State geophysicist specializing in civil applications for geophysics. About that time, there was a large cable TV build starting up in Fairfax County, Virginia. As part of Media General Cable’s franchise agreement and agreement with Virginia Power (whose existing rights of way would be primarily utilized), Media General was responsible to ensure the protection of all existing utilities within that right of way. Jim Anspach and Garon Stutzman negotiated an agreement with Media General in 1983 whereby So-Deep would utilize appropriate surface geophysics to identify these utilities in advance of construction. This was before the practice of “joint locating” by utility owners became popular. Additionally, So-Deep would use their surface geophysics and their air/vacuum excavation for cable road bores. Jim joined So-Deep to manage this contract.

About this time, questions arose regarding what to call these services. Jim and Jeff Oakley, a Penn State physics graduate, developed the terms “designating” and “locating” to more accurately differentiate these functions. (You haven’t located a utility until it is exposed; you’ve designated a utilities existence and approximate location through interpreting an energy field of some kind.)

Looking to expand these services, Garon and Jim approached the Virginia Department of Transportation in late 1983 with the concept of designating all the utilities on a highway project in the design stage so that designers could avoid them on paper when possible. J.C.Carr, State Utility Engineer for VDOT, saw the potential and allocated $10,000 for a trial project. The selected project was a massive road reconstruction in Crystal City, VA traversing the Pentagon and National Airport areas. Construction plans were already drawn, with utilities plotted from owner records and supposedly “certified” as correct by the utility companies. So-Deep designated the utilities during nighttime hours and a VDOT crew surveyed the designations and plotted them on the plans. There were vast differences from the utility owner certifications. So-Deep then performed approximately 100 test holes to prove their designations were accurate and to further identify the potential conflicts. On the record, VDOT stated to the Federal Highway Administration that over $1 million dollars in savings to the tax payer were realized. Off the record, the figure was $7 million or more.

Based on the strength of these savings, VDOT initiated a contract with So-Deep to perform this work state-wide in early 1985. This became the first state subsurface utility engineering (although not yet called that, nor yet a professional service) contract in the nation. The scope of services for “designating” and “locating” are substantially unchanged over the years, and remain the basis for every state DOT SUE contract due to the promotion of So-Deep’s scope by the FHWA. At the request of VDOT’s Location and Design Division, So-Deep hired an experienced land surveyor, Michael J. Fisher, to develop its own survey capability and to manage the VDOT contract.

About this time, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) entered into a contract with So-Deep to provide designating and locating services. WSSC realized that Maryland statutes dictated that the survey work associated with these services, when used by a public agency, must be “sealed” by a registered professional. This was the first instance of any portion of SUE work required to be endorsed by a registered professional. This requirement set the stage for future development of SUE as a professional service rather than a contractor service.

The three necessary professions for subsurface utility engineering were now in place under one corporate roof: registered engineers, surveyors, and geologists. Other states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Florida had trial projects performed by So-Deep and subsequently began the process of advertising state-wide or district contracts for designating and locating.

Another big step in the development of the subsurface utility engineering profession came in 1986 when VDOT developed a contract with So-Deep to be their representative for utility relocation design and coordination for utility owners. This was the first time in Virginia that outside forces were deemed experienced enough in utility issues to act as the state’s agent in determining federal reimbursement and utility easement issues. Subsurface utility engineering now had components of designating, locating, and utility relocation design.

A significant step forward in SUE was realized in 1988 when CNA insurance company issued a professional liability policy to So-Deep that covered all aspects of its operation, not just the survey aspects. This was the culmination of years of effort by So-Deep’s General Counsel, Harley A.J. “Bucky” Methfessel. This specialized policy covered negligent errors or omissions in the selection, application, and interpretation of surface geophysics to identify utilities; surveying and reduction of these designations; selection of test hole locations; data obtained in the test holes; professional judgement in relocation design; and so forth. (Note: Many firms now practicing subsurface utility engineering may be at risk because they do not have this specialized coverage.)

So-Deep’s senior management team, consisting of the above-mentioned persons plus Robert E. Stevens and Robert G. Humphreys, realized that their creation needed a distinctive name and after much debate, decided that “SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING” was apt and descriptive. This senior management team was to provide most of the innovations and developments of subsurface utility engineering in subsequent years. In 1989, this term was presented to the world at large at the first FHWA National Highway Utility Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. The FHWA quickly accepted this term and promoted its use thereafter. Jerry Poston, Jim Overton, and Paul Scott from the FHWA were all early proponents and advocates for SUE. Paul Scott remains as the federal government’s prime advocate for the efficient use of the public’s money through subsurface utility engineering practices.

In 1989 came the first recognition by a court of competent jurisdiction that subsurface utility engineering services are professional services rather than contractor services. This came about when So-Deep challenged a state agency when they decided to procure these services on the basis of price rather than qualifications. It became obvious to the courts that information that was placed on plans that was to be relied upon by the public clearly fell into the professional services category. Furthermore, the statutes governing the practice of geology, land surveying, and engineering in the State of Virginia clearly were all involved in the collection and interpretation of data supplied by subsurface utility engineers.

In their effort to promote SUE, So-Deep wrote, directed, and produced the first film (1990) about subsurface utility engineering called “Subsurface Utility Engineering - A Technology for the 90's.” The government recognized the value of this film to the taxpayer and therefore agreed to distribute it under the auspices of the Federal Highway Administration. This first film was hand delivered to every state secretary of transportation along with a letter from Dr. Tom Larson, FHWA Administrator, encouraging its use.

In 1990, So-Deep was asked to demonstrate various designating and locating techniques for a Department of Energy project at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The DOE’s reliance solely upon records and GPR imaging was resulting in dangerous utility damages. Bob Stevens, a former nuclear officer for the US Navy, and Garon Stutzman were discussing nuclear safety concepts prior to the work at SRS and recognized parallels with utility issues. The four “utility quality levels” were developed and defined at this point. This concept was quick to catch on with briefings at DOE, DOD, DOT, and other federal and state agencies.

The FHWA continued to collect data from state DOTs that suggested significant savings through the use of SUE. As a result, in 1994 they issued a request for proposals to generate additional educational and training materials and procurement guidelines for SUE. So-Deep was awarded this contract and developed the film “Subsurface Utility Engineering: A Proven Solution.” This film, along with the longstanding efforts to present the concepts of SUE at engineering conferences, led to the American Society of Civil Engineers accepting Jim Anspach’s proposal to establish a national standards activity regarding the responsibilities of engineers, project owners, and contractors for the collection and depiction of utility data on design and construction documents. Jim Anspach, Paul Scott, Bob Stevens, and Dr. Tom Iseley formed the executive steering committee for this ASCE activity. (This is now published as ASCE/C-I 38-02).