Plumbers express concerns with shoring policy

The Clovis Public Works Committee delayed implementing a policy requiring shoring for sewer tap inspections, but local contractors don't feel the problem has been shored up at all.

Several plumbers made their displeasure known on the requirement during the Wednesday morning meeting of the committee, leading to a new fee schedule delay until July 1 and a requirement that future developers build in a stub that allows for sewer connections with minimal digging.

Shoring involves using plywood and/or metal walls in a hole dug to ensure that a hole dug for a sewer line connection will not collapse on itself. The city, which previously charged only $25 for sewer tap inspections of any type, on June 1 began to require shoring for any holes 5 feet or deeper and attach up to $220 in additional fees depending on the depth of the hole.

Requiring the shoring prevents the city from any liability to workers entering a privately-dug hole for inspection purposes, and City Engineer Justin Howalt said it's required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

"I'm not going to go against OSHA regulations when it comes to my employees," Howalt said.

But plumbers say the ground in Clovis has always been stable enough, and argue they shouldn't be charged extra to satisfy the city's legal concerns.

"It's something we've never used here in this part of the world," Joe Hankins of Hankins Enterprise Plumbing and Heating. "I've never had a ditch cave. It's created a large cost to something that was really minor for us."

Contractors can avoid the shoring fees by providing their own equipment for shoring, and are required to provide shoring for holes deeper than 20 feet because the city does not have adequate equipment. Hankins said that creates different expenses for contractors, not to mention the fact that they would face the liability issues instead.

It also creates a significant cost upfront, Hankins said, as one home he is working on has an issue that is 122 feet deep and he has to provide shoring.

Chris Cummins, who owns Cummings Plumbing, said the shoring requirement is contentious for other reasons. He said the June 1 implementation added unforeseen expenses to bids he'd already submitted, and either he eats the cost or the customer begrudgingly pays more than they were quoted.

The delay to July 1 doesn't help matters, because with July 1 falling on Sunday, Cummins effectively has Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to work under the old fee structure — and it still leaves the question of whether plumbers will be refunded for shoring charges already levied.

"It's a good thing, don't get me wrong," Cummins said. "But I've been doing this for 38 years, and we've never had a problem."

Hankins told the committee it's a complicated process to dig the sewer line, as it often involves digging where other utilities are located.

"My whole issue is they could eliminate this cost by putting this on the front end," Hankins said. "We're digging up something that's already been dug up and put in."

The committee took care of that, requiring that future developments include a "stub up" connection in each lot, allowing for an above-ground tap process.

Howalt said he understands the concerns about the perception of unnecessary work, but noted that previous utility work weakens the compaction of the ground for future digs. He also said you've never had a cave-in until you've had a cave-in — meaning it's too late to take precautions once an accident has happened.

"OSHA regulations aren't there because things have never happened," Howalt said.