Safety of Canada's pipeline system disputed

Canadian Pipeline Mishaps [262,144 bytes]

Canada's aging oil and gas pipeline system poses a growing risk to public safety and the environment, says the federal Auditor General, Denis Desautels.

A report by Desautels said that the ability of the National Energy Board (NEB) to exercise its safety responsibilities is at risk due to a weak inspection process and understaffing.

The NEB said it accepts all seven of the recommendations in the federal report and has already implemented many of them.

The recommendations included: building a proper database for analyzing pipeline incidents, improving environmental management, increasing monitoring and compliance efforts, and applying risk assessment methodologies to safety and environmental inspections and audits.

The report

The federal audit said the number of reported oil spills, pipeline ruptures, and gas leaks jumped 73% in the past 5 years, to 88 from 48. And, since 1992, there have been 18 significant ruptures.

The federal report charges that NEB does not adequately follow up with inspections of pipelines after construction or a safety problem, due to constraints on its resources. The board has experienced staff cuts and a high staff turnover from competition from the private sector for personnel.

Desautels noted, however, that the danger due to pipelines is extremely low, compared with other methods of transporting oil and gas.

Mike Sawyer, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Ecosystem Coalition, an environmental group, claimed NEB is more concerned with serving the interests of industry than the public. He said it is fortunate that there has not been a major catastrophe with loss of life.

Rebuttal

The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) said it has been working closely with NEB to implement many of the recommendations. The industry association said it supports the recommendations of the federal report but added that Canadian pipeline companies are world leaders in safety and integrity.

"CEPA believes that aging pipelines pose no greater safety and integrity risk," said president Myron Kanik. "Experience has shown that a well-maintained pipeline can last indefinitely."

NEB official John McCarthy said the number of major ruptures affecting the public or environment has fallen from a high of six in 1994 to two in 1997. And 70% of the reported incidents occur in controlled environments such as gas plants or pumping stations. In these incidents, neither the public nor the environment was at risk, he said.

CEPA also said that the number of major failures on federally regulated pipelines has been steadily declining since 1994, and that the number of incidents so far this year is lower than for the same period in 1997. It added that less than 30% of the incidents in 1997 occurred in areas where the public could be affected.

Canada's pipeline operators have spent significant amounts on pipeline maintenance in recent years. Trans- Canada PipeLines Ltd., operator of a major natural gas pipeline system, spent $500 million (Canadian) on repairs and inspection of its system between 1992 and 1997 and will spend another $695 million between 1997 and 1999.