Ground disturbance toolkit · BC & Alberta

Know what’s down there before you dig.

Pipelines, power, gas and fibre run under almost every lease, road and yard in the Peace country. These seven free tools turn BC, Alberta and federal ground disturbance rules into answers, dates, drawings and checklists your crew can use on the day.

Checked against BC, Alberta and federal law on September 25, 2026. See every source

Does this count?

Is my job a ground disturbance, and whose rules apply?

Answer a few questions about the work, the depth and what's nearby. See which laws apply in BC or Alberta, who regulates the line, and what you must do before you dig.

You get: A plain answer with the law behind it, as a PDF for the job file

Dig planner

When can we dig, and is everything in place?

Enter your one-call request date and get the earliest legal dig date (holidays counted), locate expiry, and a complete pre-job ground disturbance checklist.

You get: A dated dig plan and a signed checklist PDF

Locate marks & safe zones

What do these paint marks mean, and how close can the machine go?

Decode every paint and flag colour, then drag a bucket toward a marked line and watch the hand-expose and no-machine zones for BC, Alberta and federal pipelines.

You get: The colour code, your approach limits, and a pocket card

Trench & slope calculator

Does this trench need sloping, shoring or an engineer?

Enter depth, width and soil. See the trench drawn to scale with the required slope, spoil pile setback, ladder spacing and every trigger for an engineer or a Notice of Project.

You get: A to-scale cross-section and a daily excavation inspection form

Line strike response

We hit something. What now?

Pick what you hit — gas, sour gas, power, fibre, water or a pipeline coating — and get the steps in order, who to call, and what you must report and by when.

You get: Step-by-step actions, reporting duties, and a site emergency card

Roles & training

Who needs Ground Disturbance 201, and is our ticket still good?

Every role on a dig — owner, prime contractor, GD supervisor, operator, spotter — with their duties, plus a checker for GD 201 certificates across BC and Alberta.

You get: Your role's duties and a valid / expired answer with the course you need

Law & resource library

Where's the actual rule?

The excavation and pipeline sections of BC, Alberta and federal law, word for word, plus the regulators, one-call centres and guides worth bookmarking.

You get: The official text, searchable, with links to every source

Not sure where to start?

I'm planning a job

Know the rules, book the locates, mark the zones.

I'm supervising the dig

Protect the trench, respect the marks, be ready.

I hire or train crews

Right people, right ticket, right rules.

Quick check · 30 seconds

Can we start digging today?

Six questions every crew should be able to answer before a bucket touches the ground. For the full picture, start with Does this count?

Is there a current one-call locate request (BC 1 Call or Utility Safety Partners) covering this exact spot?
Has every facility owner on the ticket responded — marked, cleared, or given you their instructions?
Can you see every mark on the ground, and do they match the drawings and the ticket?
Will every marked line inside the hand-expose zone be exposed by hand or hydrovac before a machine digs there?
If anyone will enter a trench, is it sloped, benched or shored for its depth and soil?
Does everyone on site know what to do if a line is hit — and who to call?

General guidance only. This tool supports, and does not replace, your own competent assessment, the current BC OHS Regulation or Alberta OHS Code, your locate, the facility owner’s requirements and your employer’s procedures. You are responsible for your dig; where anything here differs from the law or an owner’s written instructions, they govern.

Read the full notice

You are responsible for your dig. Before any work begins, whoever uses this toolkit must consult, confirm and understand every law, regulation, permit, consent, crossing agreement, locate and facility owner requirement that applies to their site and their work.

This toolkit is general information to help you find those requirements. It is not a locate, not legal advice, not an engineering design and not a substitute for competent supervision. Do not rely on it to decide whether, where, when or how to dig.

Laws change, owners set stricter conditions, and every site is different. Where anything in this toolkit differs from the law, a regulator, a locate sheet or a facility owner's instructions, they govern — not this toolkit.

It explains the rules; it is not the rules, a locate, or an engineer. It’s built from BC’s BC OHS Regulation (Part 20) and pipeline crossing rules, Alberta’s OHS Code (Part 32) and Pipeline Rules, the federal Canadian Energy Regulator damage prevention regulations, and the published guidance of regulators and one-call centres. Where we say Law, legislation requires it. Where we say Guidance, it’s a regulator’s or industry body’s advice. The facility owner’s written instructions and the law govern. This toolkit is Alpha Training Solutions’ own work and is not made or endorsed by any regulator or one-call centre.

These materials contain information that has been derived from information originally made available by the Province of British Columbia at: http://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca and this information is being used in accordance with the King's Printer Licence – British Columbia available at: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/standards/Licence.html. They have not, however, been produced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of, the Province of British Columbia and THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL VERSION.

Alberta legislation © Alberta King's Printer (OHS Code 2021, OHS Act 2020, Pipeline Rules 2023, Pipeline Act and Historical Resources Act 2000), reproduced from the consolidations at kings-printer.alberta.ca. Not the official version.

Federal law reproduced from the Justice Laws Website (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca), current to September 3, 2026. This is not an official version.