Features
Stakeholder Perspective: Thomas Stewart
Tom Stewart serves as Executive Vice President of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA), having been elected to that position in September, 1991. At OOGA, Stewart is director of staff, editor of the Association’s publications, serves as an industry spokesman to media outlets and other forums, and is an industry advocate as a registered legislative agent. The membership of OOGA is made up of the independent oil and gas producers whose only source of revenue is at the wellhead. Stewart spends much of his time lobbying as he represents his member’ interests in Columbus and Washington D.C.
He is convincing when he talks about the issues facing his membership. He says, “I love the oil and gas business. I’m the third generation in my family to engage in exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. I’ve always liked politics and the battles associated with changing of policies and attitudes. The challenges to the oil and gas industry are enormous ranging from public policy to dealing with protecting the underground infrastructure so critical to our economy.”
In 1989, the Ohio General Assembly enacted comprehensive “Call before you dig” legislation. Prior to 1989, voluntary “call before you dig” services encouraged excavators to use the system to warn property owners before excavating. The primary intent of the 1989 law was to make the “call before you dig” requirement mandatory.
Stewart said, “At that time there were already two underground protection services in existence. Ohio Utilities Protection Service (O.U.P.S.) provided service primarily to public utilities and operators of extensive infrastructure underground operations. The Oil and Gas Producers Underground Protection Service (OGPUPS) provided service to owners of small, no-utility facilities. Since 1989, several public policy debates occurred that focused on the reasons why two services existed in Ohio and looked for ways to require all underground facility owners to use only one service. Prior to Senate Bill 152, the last legislative battle occurred during the 123rd General Assembly.
For many reasons the debate was contentious and issues were not resolved. This was mostly due to tensions between the interests of large utilities, small private facility owners and excavators related to cost of service and liability.”
He continued, “The world is constantly changing. 811 was a shot across the bow. It told everybody that they were going to have to reexamine their views regarding efficiency and responsibility. I believe that 811 was also the impetus for O.U.P.S. and OOGA to think outside the box and look for ways to more cooperatively work together. Both services felt that operating two separate systems in a post-811 world makes little sense. Also, both stated that several significant changes in Ohio law was necessary to accommodate the consolidation of the two systems in order to bring about efficient and safe underground protection in Ohio and make 811 work best for all stakeholders. On May 22, 2007 the two services affirmed their intent to merge.”
Stewart paused for a moment and then said, “Roger Lipscomb’s (Executive Director, O.U.P.S.) leadership has been a breath of fresh air. He came in with a different attitude. Of course his goal is to build his organization, but is sensitive to the diverse views of other stakeholders. And to O.U.P.S. credit they have pursued technology to improve the accuracy of their tickets and they have driven down the costs associated with the ticket. That is of course appealing to anyone considering their service as an option. Additionally, they have reached out to the oil and gas industry by offering these same benefits to us. Reducing cost is a smart thing to do. It makes it possible to reshape old attitudes.”
The nine elements of a stronger and more effective damage prevention program also recognized bridges needed to be built between stakeholders that have responsibility for the too frequent damages to underground infrastructure. Reshaping old attitudes requires both information and inspiration. Just normal progress through life usually prompts us to change some of our attitudes in order to adjust to changing circumstances. And circumstances have certainly changed since 1989.
Stewart said, “One sure thing is that policy is driving both sides of the equation to work together. In Ohio, we are trying to create the environment to allow for the necessary changes in attitude to make our damage prevention laws the most efficient and effective damage prevention program possible. I believe the federal regulators are saying that if we don’t take charge of our own situation, they’ll come in and do it for us. I’m convinced that would not be in our best interest.”
He continued, “Leadership is not about managing or administrating on a daily basis. Leadership is about seeing what the next thing around the corner is and preparing the membership for the change. 811 has shown that. I am convinced that our membership is ready for the change.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’m not surprised that Senate Bill 152 hit a brick wall the first time out. It means we’ve all got a lot of work to do. Had we been successful in getting it passed, it would have allowed for the merger between the two services to occur. However, to be fair, there were a lot of issues at stake. We’ll try again and perhaps this time it needs pared down to allow for a greater focus on the most important issues. Going forward, OOGA has made a commitment to continue to work with O.U.P.S. to pass this important piece of legislation based on the trust relationship we’ve developed with their leadership.”
That’s sounds like a winning formula in any walk of life. You don’t lose when you get knocked down; you lose when you stay down. It sounds like in Ohio; we’re just getting ready for the next round.
