Gopher State One Call Jobs and Profile

On Tuesday, July 8, 1986, a quiet neighborhood in Moundsview, Minnesota, was roused from its slumber when a wall of fire roared down that street. A mother and her six-year old daughter stepped out the front door shocked by the noise, frightened obviously, opened their door and were incinerated.  Mailboxes melted. Trees wilted. The road buckled. A third woman was severely injured. Over a quarter of a million dollars in property damage was caused. The origin of the fire, a hazardous liquid pipeline running through this neighborhood.”  Congressman James Oberstar (8th District) presented this chilling account of the Moundsview accident when he testified before the National Transportation Safety Board.

As a result of that horrific incident in Moundsview, the Minnesota Legislature undertook a study of pipeline safety and third party damages.  Chief among the study’s findings was the recommendation that Minnesota enact comprehensive damage prevention legislation.  This resulted in the passage of State Statutes Chapter 216D in 1987. The legislation, co-sponsored by Representatives Daniel Knuth, Dave Bishop and Senator Steve Novak, required the establishment of a statewide notification center to receive notices of intent to excavate from any person engaged in excavation activity. All persons who engaged in excavation were required to notify the call center two business days prior to the start of their work. The call center would in turn notify facility operators in the area of the excavation.

216D required the Commissioner of Public Safety to approve the formation of a nonprofit corporation for the provision of the call center services. The nonprofit corporation was to be governed by up to 20 directors, representing and selected by facility operators, excavators and other persons eligible to participate in the center. The only permanent board seat designated by the legislation is reserved for the Director of the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety. With the formation of the Board of Directors, Gopher State One Call (GSOC) was born.