Alliance Pipeline Reinforces Safety Commitment by Reminding Residents to Call or Click Before Digging

CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - April 10, 2017) - Safe Digging Awareness Month is here and, as outdoor activities start to take shape, understanding the simple process involved in calling or clicking before digging can go a long way in preventing excavating incidents this spring.

Unauthorized digging and excavation is the number one cause of pipeline incidents, and still, every year, failure to call or click before digging results in injuries and legal hassles, as well as the disruption of buried utilities, like natural gas lines, electricity, water, and telephone, for hundreds of thousands of people who count on the energy and services delivered on these lines. This is why Alliance Pipeline is proud to support April Safe Digging Awareness Month.

"Safety matters to everyone and is Alliance Pipeline's top priority. That's why we are reminding people in communities near our pipeline of the importance of contacting your local one-call centre before commencing any sort of digging or excavation activity," said company spokesperson Rob Gray. "For the sake of your safety and that of everyone around you, it is important to call or click before beginning work like installing decks, driveways, or posts, and certain types of farming activities like deep plowing or installing drain tile."

Gray explained that doing so initiates a locate request to have buried utilities identified. As part of this, a Damage Prevention Associate from the local one-call centre identifies which utilities are registered within the dig area and sends information about the excavation to each of the utility operators. The operator then contacts the person who called, or will visit the site to mark the location of the buried lines using water-soluble paint or flags. The operator will provide a document called a locate slip which gives an explanation of the markings made on the ground, a drawing of buried lines in the dig area and instructions on how to dig safely.

"People often think this can be a hassle, when in reality, it is really simple and takes just two business days," says Gray. "We're sharing this message throughout April, which is Safe Digging Awareness Month, but, of course, incident prevention is important all the time. Safety matters every day of the year."

Whether in a remote area or a city, underground utilities are always present and buried infrastructure may be closer to the surface than expected. That's why any activity that creates ground disturbances over one foot (30 centimetres) deep requires contacting a local one-call centre, at least two business days in advance. For more information, including contact information for your local one-call centre, visit www.alliancepipeline.com/digsafe.

About the Alliance Pipeline system:
The Alliance Pipeline system consists of an approximately 3,848-kilometer (2,391-mile) integrated Canadian and U.S. natural gas transmission pipeline system, delivering rich natural gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Williston Basin to the Chicago market hub. The United States portion of the system consists of approximately 1,557 kilometers (967 miles) of infrastructure including the 128-kilometer (80-mile) Tioga Lateral in North Dakota. The Alliance system delivers, on average, about 45.3 million standard cubic metres (or 1.6 billion standard cubic feet) of natural gas per day. More information about the company is available at www.alliancepipeline.com.

Alliance Pipeline Limited Partnership (Alliance Canada) owns the Canadian portion of the Alliance Pipeline system. Alliance Pipeline L.P. (Alliance U.S.A.) owns the U.S. portion of the Alliance Pipeline system. Both Alliance Canada and Alliance U.S.A. are owned 50 percent each by affiliates of Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (TSX: ENF) and Veresen Inc. (TSX: VSN).