Working with the wind safely

Companies bringing in workers to build the different projects in Carbon County are aware of the concern residents might have with the influx of people coming from all over the United States.

"Rocky Mountain Power's top priority is protecting the health of our employees and the community while we provide reliable power," Spencer Hall of Pacificorp said. "As an essential service provider, our employees and contractors continue to meet their obligations to work safely and follow company policies and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for avoiding transmission of the COVID-19 virus, including frequent hand washing, maintaining six feet of separation from others (social distancing), and cleaning/disinfecting high-usage surfaces on a regular basis. Employees are also cleaning work areas, staying in assigned areas and only having one person in a vehicle at a time. Signing in and out of tag-out is being done remotely."

Pacificorp is the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power.

"Safety is the top priority in the construction industry, so our workforce culture is already focused on keeping everyone safe every day," said Kara Choquette, director of communications for Power Company of Wyoming (PCW). "Our safety program includes all of the preventative measures required under the Governor's orders and in alignment with the CDC guidelines. We will continue to adapt and revise the plan as conditions, regulations and guidance may evolve."

Choquette said PCW representatives share the county's desire to keep everyone safe on their project and in the community. Well before the 2020 construction season began for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre (CCSM) Wind Energy Project, PCW worked with its contractor's construction and safety experts to assure that a comprehensive COVID-19 safety and response plan was developed.

Another company working on projects in the county is Oftedal Construction, Inc. It has been monitoring and talking about the COVID19 virus ever since it first started getting news media attention according to George Hruska, Business Development Director. He said Oftedal Construction has a Coronavirus COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan.

"We have been working on it since early March. We have been monitoring what was taking place in China and as it continued on its course throughout the world," Hruska said. "Oftedal is an employee owned, employee operated company and as such we maintain proactive, not reactive plans."

The companies have earned the trust of Carbon County Commissioners by their actions before the state mandated any guidelines. This in turn has made the mayors of Medicine Bow and Hanna comfortable with the arrival of workers.

"I am totally comfortable with the new workers coming into Carbon County," Medicine Bow Mayor Sharon Biamon said. "I had a nice talk with Ron Brown (Interim Emergency Management Carbon County Coordinator) who filled me in on procedures being implemented and he told me he couldn't be happier with what steps are being taken."

Hanna mayor, Lois Buchanan felt similar to Biamon.

"After finding out from the Carbon County Commissioners the protocols being instituted by the companies, I feel comfortable about them coming to our town," Buchanan said. "I see them with their masks in town, which tells me they are taking their guidelines seriously."

Hall said Rocky Mountain Power knows safety to all is how the company should operate.

"Enhanced cleaning protocols throughout all facilities and work sites have been implemented," Hall said. "Following guidelines from the CDC, the company's occupational health nurses conduct risk analysis and contact tracing. Any individuals identified during contact tracing as having close contact with the virus will be quarantined."

Hall said the company has been working closely with state and local officials.

"The company continues to give updates to employees as additional information can be passed along, with the understanding that privacy around personal health information of employees must be maintained," Hall said. "The company has been in close communication with the Wyoming DEQ and officials from Carbon County to share our contractor and company protocols as we work to keep Wyoming open for business while also maintaining the safety of local communities."

Choquette said PWC is also following strict guidelines in being safe.

"Social distancing is already inherent in much of the work being performed because of the remote nature of the CCSM Project site and heavy equipment drivers isolated in single-operator cabs," Choquette said. "In addition to assuring that proper social distancing occurs in every aspect of the project, the detailed safety plan calls for increased facility cleaning, installing more handwashing stations, eliminating unsealed food, providing daily COVID communications and reminders, restricting meeting sizes, requiring workers to understand the known COVID symptoms and to report any illness, limiting travel of any non-local workers, having on-site medical personnel and requiring subcontractors to meet or exceed all aspects of the safety plan, among other measures."

All workers, the majority of which are from Wyoming, will be trained on these requirements as part of the mandatory safety training conducted when they start for the season, with reminders then incorporated into daily safety meetings, Choquette added.

Hruska made clear Oftedal is very committed to ensuring safety.

"We are constantly updating our response plan and will continue to do so to try and keep not only our employee owners safe but every other human being safe that we come in contact with throughout the course of a day," Hruska said. "We are doing this by following the social distancing guidelines, teaching our employees what symptoms to look for, allowing our office personnel the option of working at home to keep the amount of workers in our offices to a safe standard. If an employee claims to have one or a combination of symptoms we will have them undergo a telephonic Contagious Respiratory Illness Assessment according to CDC Guidelines. The guidelines being; self-quarantining any employee that feels sick or shows symptoms; steps on how to clean equipment and office areas; constantly monitoring cleaning supplies quantities to make sure supplies are always available to employees;  proper and thorough documentation processes; limiting overnight travel to a minimum unless absolutely necessary, having company meetings via facetime, Skype, Zoom, and company radios."

Hall said Rocky Mountain Power not only understands that following guidelines for safety is important to residents, but also the company wants to help customers.

"We are dedicated to serving our customers in this crisis and know that working together we will get through this uncertain time," Hall said. "Rocky Mountain Power is helping business owners and customers who are impacted by COVID-19 by suspending disconnects due to non-payment, waiving late fees, offering flexible payment arrangements and referrals to resources made available through the government aid package. When times are tight, Rocky Mountain Power has several ways to help customers experiencing financial hardships, including ways for friends and neighbors to help members of the community facing difficulty paying their energy bills."

Hall said more information on these programs is available at http://www.rockymountainpower.net/my-account/payments/bill-payment-assistance.

Choquette is glad to put Carbon County residents worries at ease about how the company is putting forth safety protocols concerning the virus.

"Construction professionals are already well-accustomed to wearing personal protective equipment, following strict rules and working together to maintain a safe workplace," Choquette said. "We appreciate Carbon County Public Health experts taking the time to review the safety plan with us and we are committed to keeping the lines of communication open with the county."

Hruska said Oftedal teaches new hires with the same intensity as current employees.

"Oftedal is aggressively hiring new employees for the work load we currently have and any potential new hires must fill out applications on line and we are restricting human contact to a minimum while still adhering to social distancing standards. We are not allowing walk in visitors to any Oftedal facilities or jobsite," Hruska said. "Safety is and always has been our way of making sure a job is done right."