Alabama 811’s Alabama Public Awareness Cooperative Training (APACT) program is entering its 21st year, continuing a long-standing commitment to public safety, collaboration, and education across the state. The program supports approximately 85 natural gas and pipeline product operators in Alabama by helping them meet mandatory public awareness requirements through consistent, baseline messaging delivered to key audiences of emergency responders, excavators, and public officials.
For Alabama 811, the program delivers added value by reinforcing essential safety messages, including the use of 811, compliance with Alabama’s dig law, and best practices for working safely around underground utilities. These core messages, as well as the pipeline recognition and response messages, remain consistent year to year, ensuring clarity and compliance, while the program itself continues to try and evolve to better serve participants.
While many states rely on third-party organizations to administer public awareness programs, Alabama has found success with a hybrid model and runs the program in-house. Over the past several years, Alabama 811 has taken the lead on APACT while strategically building partnerships with key organizations to adapt, improve, and expand the program’s impact.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that improvements were necessary to maintain strong attendance, enhance the participant experience, and continue attracting new audiences. The first major post-pandemic partnership was formed with Paradigm, a national provider of public awareness programs operating in nearly every state. For many years, Paradigm conducted a smaller, separate public awareness program in Alabama, while Alabama 811’s APACT program remained the larger and more widely attended option.
The two organizations have long shared a positive working relationship and mutual respect, often coordinating schedules to avoid overlap and encouraging operators to attend both programs. Over time, conversations between Alabama 811 and Paradigm led to a partial merger of efforts, bringing the majority of Alabama’s pipeline operators together under one unified public awareness program.
Today, Paradigm plays a significant role in APACT’s success, supporting enhanced documentation, streamlined registration and RSVP processes, facility booking, invitation distribution, and more. Participants and operators have responded positively to the improved organization, accessibility, and documentation, marking a clear improvement in the overall program experience.
APACT’s second key partnership has provided another major boost by elevating the emergency response portion of the program. Rather than relying solely on Alabama 811 staff, APACT now features certified emergency responders through a partnership with the Alabama Pipeline Emergency Response Initiative (APERI).
APERI originated as a PHMSA-initiated effort and has gained considerable momentum in recent years. In Alabama, the initiative has evolved into a four-hour continuing education course certified by the Alabama Fire College and offered free of charge to emergency responders statewide. The program was carefully developed through collaboration among gas and pipeline operators, emergency responders, and other stakeholders to ensure it meets the real-world needs of all involved.
While APACT addresses a broad range of audiences, APERI’s emergency responder-focused program provides more in-depth emergency response training, including detailed scenarios involving natural gas and other pipeline products. The two programs complement one another rather than compete, each serving a distinct but connected purpose.
Following involvement in the development of APERI’s current format, discussions ultimately led to a formal partnership between APACT and APERI. This collaboration allows both programs to co-promote their efforts and enables certified emergency responders to deliver the emergency response portion of APACT. In 2026, the partnership will enter its third year, continuing to unify messaging, elevate content quality, and strengthen relationships between operators and their target audiences.
The 2026 APACT meetings are expected to begin in June, with 15 meetings planned across county clusters statewide. Meeting information can be found by visiting al.pipeline-awareness.com. As the program enters its third decade, Alabama 811 looks forward to another successful year—one built on collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to public safety.