ARCHIVED - Order MJS-003-2012 to City of Boucherville pursuant to Section 51.1 of the National Energy Board Act

Order MJS-003-2012 to City of Boucherville pursuant to Section 51.1 of the National Energy Board Act [French only: PDF 1973 KB]

Order MJS-003-2012

IN THE MATTER OF THE NATIONAL ENERGY BOARD ACT,
AN ORDER UNDER SECTION 51.1

City of Boucherville (the City)
Full name of the person or Contractor

From September 21 - October 3, 2012, the undersigned National Energy Board Inspection Officer (the Inspector) conducted an assessment of unauthorized activities that were conducted in Boucherville, Quebec on or near the MPLL pipeline right-of-way and which were reported by Montreal PipeLines Limited (MPLL).

The Inspector noted the following: The City has not implemented procedures to ensure the oversight of contractors hired to perform excavation and construction work for the City. In future, the City shall verify that contractors have obtained the required permissions and have been provided with the necessary information before conducting excavation within 30 metres of a federally-regulated pipeline or before commencing the construction of facilities above, below or along federally-regulated pipelines as required by the National Energy Board Pipelines Crossing Regulations, Part I (the Regulations).

In view of the foregoing, the Inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that the continued lack of safety awareness and safety procedures for excavation within 30 metres of a federally-regulated pipeline or for construction above, below or belong a federally-regulated pipeline may cause a hazard to the safety of the public or to the employees of the company or a detriment to the environment or to property.

Therefore, the City is HEREBY ORDERED, pursuant to section 51.1 of the National Energy Board Act, to

Specified measures

The City shall demonstrate to the Inspector that it will provide adequate oversight of contractors it hires and will ensure that they obtain all the necessary written permissions to construct a facility above, below or along a federally-regulated pipeline or to carry out excavation within 30 metres of a federally-regulated pipeline, in accordance with the Regulations.

In addition to ongoing compliance with the Regulations, the City shall develop and implement a safety procedure. The primary goal of the safety procedure is to demonstrate how the City is to manage oversight of its contractors, and at a minimum, will provide for the following:

1. The City shall provide a copy of Excavation and Construction Near Pipelines to all contractors when a contract is signed for excavation within 30 metres of a federally-regulated pipeline or for construction of facilities above, below or along federally-regulated pipelines (hereafter referred to as “work”) to ensure that they are aware of the applicable regulations.
2. The City shall require any contractor it plans to hire to perform work to demonstrate that it has appropriate safety procedures in place to ensure compliance with the Regulations.
3. The City shall enter into an agreement with any contractor planning to perform work, stipulating that the contractor must obtain written permission from the pipeline company where the Regulations so require, and that the contractor will comply with all conditions set out in the written permission.
4. In the event of a modification to work for which permission from the pipeline company has been obtained, the City shall ensure that the modification is communicated to the pipeline company in order to ensure that the company’s permission is still valid and that the project can proceed safely.
5. The City shall have its own inspector present on all worksites to ensure that the necessary written permissions have been obtained from the pipeline company prior to the start of excavation or construction and that the contractor is complying with the conditions and instructions set out in the written permissions.
6. The City’s inspector must be qualified, and must have and be aware that he/she has the training, duty and authority to stop contractor work if the contractor has not obtained the necessary written permissions from the pipeline company or is not in compliance with the conditions set out in the permissions.
7. The City shall identify the manner in which it will ensure contractor oversight and shall ensure that one of its inspectors is present on all worksites.
8. Where a City contractor contravenes the Regulations or the conditions of the pipeline company’s permissions, the City shall follow up to identify and remedy deficiencies in its procedure and in its oversight of contractors working for the City. The City shall also take the appropriate enforcement action as required.
9. The City shall follow up to verify the successful implementation of its procedure to avoid future unauthorized activities.

To have this Order lifted, the City must provide the Board Inspector with a written procedure that includes items 1 to 9 above at a minimum, no later than 19 November 2012.

If the City is required to perform construction work above, below or along a federally-regulated pipeline or carry out excavation using power equipment within 30 metres of a federally-regulated pipeline, the City shall comply with the Regulations and shall implement the specific measures described in items 1-9 above, where they are relevant and applicable. The City shall provide the Inspector with a written commitment to this effect as soon as possible after receiving this Order.

Date modified:

2021-02-22