Inspection Officer Order issued to Trans Northern Pipeline Inc. and Blue Tec Construction Inc.

September 8, 2023

Last week, CER Inspection Officers issued two Inspection Officer Orders (IOO) after conducting a field follow-up of unauthorized third-party activity on the Trans-Northern Pipeline Inc. (TNPI) main line near Oshawa, Ontario.

The unauthorized activity included extensive top-soil removal and ground disturbance by heavy tracked machinery that had the potential to cause damage to the in-service pipeline. The site has been frozen for increased safety measures since August 24, 2023.

One IOO was issued to TNPI and the other was issued to Blue Tec Construction Inc. In the IOO to TNPI, we have required the company to:

  • Provide a monitoring and mitigation plan that outlines how it will protect the pipeline from the ground disturbance activities at the site.
  • Confirm that it has reduced operating pressure at this location and include the pressure reduction details or demonstrate that pressure reduction was not required.
  • Identify all buried facilities at the site and confirm that its site maps are accurate.
  • Inform Blue Tec Construction Inc. that site construction is paused until the above actions are met.
  • Conduct an incident investigation and include a root cause analysis.
  • Develop and implement an appropriate corrective and preventive action plan to prevent similar incidents.

We have ordered Blue Tec Construction Inc. to suspend all construction activities within 15 metres of TNPI until measures are taken to ensure site safety, as outlined in the IOO.

The CER will continue following up with TNPI and Blue Tec Construction Inc. until the issues are resolved.

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