Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part II.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the National Energy Board Act; (Loi)

excavation

excavation[Revoked, SOR/93-239, s. 2]

excavator

excavator means the person who performs an excavation and includes the corporation or other legal entity and every agent, affiliate and subcontractor of the corporation or other legal entity that has direct control over the person performing the excavation; (exécutant de travaux d’excavation)

facility

facility means

• (a) any structure that is constructed or placed on the right-of-way of a pipeline, and

• (b) any highway, private road, railway, irrigation ditch, drain, drainage system, sewer, dike, telegraph, telephone line or line for the transmission of hydrocarbons, power or any other substance that is or is to be carried across, along, upon or under any pipeline; (installation)

facility owner

facility owner means a person, firm, public agency, corporation, or any combination thereof, that owns a facility or that undertakes or has control over one or more of the activities related to construction, installation, operation, maintenance or removal of a facility; (propriétaire d’installation)

leave

leave means the leave of the Board referred to in subsection 112(1) of the Act; (autorisation)

permission

permission means the consent given by a pipeline company to a facility owner or excavator to construct or install a facility or to excavate; (permission)

pipe

pipe means the pipe and all related appurtenances that belong to a pipeline company and that are used in the transmission of hydrocarbons through a pipeline; (conduite)

restricted area

restricted area[Repealed, SOR/2000-384, s. 1]

Application

3 These Regulations do not apply to an excavation caused by

• (a) a pipeline company or its agents; or

• (b) activities, other than the construction or installation of a facility, that disturb less than three tenths of a metre of ground below the initial grade and do not reduce the total cover over the pipe.

Pipeline Company Responsibilities

• 4 (1) Every pipeline company shall establish an ongoing public awareness program to inform the public of

  • (a) the presence of the pipeline; and

  • (b) the public’s responsibilities regarding any construction or installation of a facility and any excavation that might affect the pipeline.

• (2) Every pipeline company shall assess the effectiveness of its public awareness program on a regular basis and shall maintain a record of the assessment.

• 5 (1) Every pipeline company shall develop detailed guidelines setting out the technical and other information to be included in requests for permission referred to in paragraph 4(b) or 6(b) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I, and shall make those guidelines public.

• (2) The guidelines referred to in subsection (1) shall be submitted to the Board for approval prior to release to the public.

• 6 (1) Where a pipeline company receives a request for permission, pursuant to paragraph 4(b) or 6(b) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I, in accordance with the guidelines referred to in section 5, the pipeline company shall, within ten working days after receiving the request, inform the facility owner or excavator

  • (a) whether permission has been granted; and

  • (b) where permission has been refused, of the reasons for the refusal.

• (2) Where permission is granted pursuant to subsection (1), unless the pipeline company and the facility owner or excavator agree otherwise, the permission lapses if the construction or installation of the facility or the excavation is not completed within two years after the date the permission was granted.

7 Where a facility owner or excavator applies for leave of the Board, the pipeline company shall, within ten working days after receiving a request for information relevant to the application, give the facility owner or excavator all the information, and provide all reasonable assistance, needed to prepare the application.

8 Where a pipeline company receives a copy of an application for leave that has been filed with the Board, the pipeline company shall, within 10 working days after receiving the copy of the application, send to the Board its comments, if any, regarding the safety of the proposed facility or excavation in respect of the pipeline.

• 9 (1) Subject to subsection (2), when a pipeline company receives a request from a facility owner or an excavator to locate its pipes, the pipeline company shall, within three working days after the date of the request, or any longer period agreed to by the pipeline company and the facility owner or excavator

  • (a) inform the facility owner or excavator, in writing, of any special safety practices to be followed while working in the vicinity of its pipes;

  • (b) mark the location of its pipes in the vicinity of the proposed facility or excavation at maximum intervals of 10 m along each pipe using stakes that are clearly visible and distinct from any other stakes or markings that may be in the vicinity of the proposed facility or excavation; and

  • (c) explain the significance of the stakes to the satisfaction of the facility owner or excavator.

• (2) Where ground conditions preclude the placing of the stakes referred to in subsection (1), paint or other suitable methods of marking may be substituted if the paint or marking is

  • (a) clearly visible;

  • (b) distinct from all other markings in the vicinity of the proposed facility or excavation; and

  • (c) compatible with any local standard colour codes used for marking buried pipe.

10 The pipeline company shall

• (a) carry out such inspections as are necessary to ensure the continued safety of the pipeline during the period of excavation in the vicinity of a pipe and backfilling over a pipe;

• (b) inspect all exposed pipe prior to backfilling to ensure that no damage to a pipe has occurred;

• (c) in respect of the inspections referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), maintain a record of all findings and observations; and

• (d) include in the record referred to in paragraph (c) the following information:

  • (i) the name of the person conducting the inspection,

  • (ii) the date and time of the inspection, and

  • (iii) any field observations relating to

    • (A) where a pipe was exposed during the construction or installation of a facility or during an excavation, the clearance between the pipe and the facility and the condition of the pipe at the time of backfilling over the pipe,

    • (B) whether the facility owner or excavator has met the circumstances and conditions set out in the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I,

    • (C) the method of excavation, and

    • (D) any unusual events during the construction or installation of the facility or during the excavation that may have had an effect on the safety or integrity of the pipeline.

• 11 (1) The pipeline company shall maintain records of all construction or installation of facilities and of all excavations for the useful life of the pipeline.

• (2) The records referred to in subsection (1) shall include, for each facility or excavation, as the case may be,

  • (a) the name and address of the facility owner and excavator;

  • (b) the nature and location of the facility or excavation;

  • (c) the dates of commencement and termination of the construction or installation of the facility or of the excavation;

  • (d) a description of the facility, submitted by the facility owner with the request for permission;

  • (e) a copy of the pipeline company’s written permission to the facility owner or excavator or an indication that leave of the Board was granted;

  • (f) a copy of every inspection record maintained pursuant to paragraph 10(c);

  • (g) a statement whether the facility owner or excavator has met the circumstances and conditions set out in the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I; and

  • (h) the details of the abandonment, removal or alteration of any facility.

• 12 (1) On the request of the Board, the pipeline company shall provide the Board with a list of every permission granted pursuant to the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I.

• (2) The list referred to in subsection (1) shall include the information referred to in paragraphs 11(2)(a) to (c).

• 13 (1) The pipeline company shall immediately report to the Board

  • (a) every contravention of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I;

  • (b) all damage to its pipe caused or observed during the construction or installation of a facility or during an excavation or during the operation, maintenance or removal of a facility; and

  • (c) any activity of the facility owner or excavator that the pipeline company considers to be potentially hazardous to a pipe.

• (2) The report referred to in subsection (1) shall include

  • (a) details of any contravention or of any damage, including, in the case of damage, the cause and nature thereof;

  • (b) any concerns the pipeline company may have regarding the safety of the pipeline as a result of the construction or installation or of the excavation; and

  • (c) any action the pipeline company intends to take or request.

• 14 (1) Where the pipeline company or the Board is satisfied that unsafe construction practices have been or are being used, the pipeline company or the Board may suspend, for such period as it considers necessary, the permission given by the pipeline company to construct or install a facility or to excavate.

• (2) Where a pipeline company suspends its permission pursuant to subsection (1), the pipeline company shall immediately notify the Board of its decision giving its reasons therefor.

• 15 (1) The pipeline company shall make such inspections as are necessary to ensure that any deterioration of a facility that might adversely affect a pipe is detected, and shall inform the facility owner, in writing, of any deterioration that is detected.

• (2) Where an inspection made pursuant to subsection (1) reveals deterioration of a facility sufficient to warrant removal of the facility, the pipeline company shall inform the Board.

16 Every person required by these Regulations to keep records shall make the records, and all other materials necessary to verify the information therein, available to officers of the Board and other persons authorized by the Board for that purpose, and shall give the Board and other authorized persons every assistance necessary to inspect the records.