Toronto City Council calls for automatic shutoff valves on Enbridge pipeline crossing watercourses

Toronto City Council recently voted to ask Enbridge Pipelines Inc. to install automatic shut-off valves – on both sides of major watercourses crossed by one of the firm’s oil pipelines running through the Toronto area – and that the National Energy Board not grant the pipeline firm leave to open.

Calgary-based Enbridge operates line 9, which carries oil between Sarnia and Montreal. In 2012, the National Energy board approved an application by Enbridge to reverse the flow – from west to east – of a portion of Line 9 running from Sarnia to Westover, about 30 kilometres northwest of downtown Hamilton. Then in 2014, NEB approved an application – with 30 conditions – to reverse the flow on Line 9B, which runs from Westover to Montreal. Line 9B runs through Toronto.

Enbridge is applying to increase the capacity of Line 9 and to use it to transport heavy crude oil.

“Enbridge must meet all requirements set out by (NEB) before they will be provided a final leave to open,” NEB notes in a backgrounder.

In its meeting held March 31 to April 2, Toronto City Council voted to “request that the National Energy Board not allow Enbridge the Leave to Open” line 9B. It also voted to “request Enbridge to install automatic shut-off valves on either side of the City of Toronto’s major watercourses.”

A summary provided with a motion put before Toronto City Council states that the city has “no formal input” into the NEB decision on Leave to Open.

But the Toronto Region Conservation Authority previously “expressed serious concerns that there are not enough automatic shut-off valves in the GTA, given the significance of our watershed, urban population, and infrastructure, especially our drinking water intakes and source water protection areas,” the summary with the motion stated.

In a press release in February, Enbridge noted that NEB “has required Enbridge to submit, within the next 12 months, a comprehensive analysis of water crossings which would determine whether additional isolation valves are necessary.”

Accident investigations involving pipelines in Canada are handled by the federal Transportation Safety Board. In its annual report to Parliament last August, TSB stated that 11 pipeline accidents were reported in 2013. TSB also handles aviation, railway and marine incident investigations. From April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014 TSB issued 10 recommendations, 25 safety advisories, 31 safety information letters and 5 safety concerns. None of those safety communications were for pipelines. [click image below to enlarge]

“The last fatal accident on a federally-regulated pipeline system occurred in 1988,” TSB noted at the time.

But the summary published with City Council’s motion last week stated that when pipeline spills do occur, “the environmental impacts are significant, expensive and long lasting.”

A bill currently before Parliament will, if passed into law, impose absolute liability for “unintended or uncontrolled releases” of oil and gas from pipelines regulated by NEB. Bill C-46, the Pipeline Safety Act, was tabled in February for second reading. In its present form the bill does not specifically require certificates of pollution liability insurance, but it would allow the government to mandate, by regulation, certain “types of financial resources.” If passed into law, Bill C-46 would require pipeline operators to “satisfy” the NEB that they meet “the requirement to maintain the amount of financial resources” in case they would have to pay out under the absolute liability provision.

“The pipeline safety act would, in exceptional circumstances, provide the NEB with the authority and resources to take control of incident response and cleanup when a company is unable to do so,” said Kelly Block, Conservative MP for Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, during debate on Bill C-46 March 9. “Also, the new legislation would expand NEB authority to recover costs from industry for that backstop.”

NDP MPs complained Bill C-46 does not go far enough.

“The bill before us is the first step with regard to the polluter pays, unfortunately the implementation of many of the proposed changes in Bill C-46 are left to the discretion of the National Energy Board and cabinet, or the details are left to regulations,” said the NDP’s Jasbir Sandhu, who represents the British Columbia riding of Surrey North in the Commons.

“Canadians have a reasonable and high expectation that industry will ensure that our pipelines are safe and secure, not only today but well into the future,” Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal MP for Winnipeg North said March 9 in the Commons. “There are reasons to believe the legislation, which will ultimately pass through committee, will be of benefit, both to our environment and to the industry as a whole.”