Federal regulator hasn’t used new powers to fine pipeline companies
OTTAWA — Nearly seven months after getting new powers making it easier to fine delinquent pipeline companies, Canada’s national energy regulator says it hasn’t yet issued any fines, choosing instead to use other options to get the industry to respect the law. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government touted the new powers in a multimillion dollar ad campaign in 2012 that responded to criticism about budget cuts and changes to conservation laws by stating it was “protecting the environment with new fines for companies that break the law.” Environment Canada has had long-standing powers to prosecute or fine companies or people that contaminate water under the Fisheries Act and occasionally uses this tool to respond to pollution incidents. But in terms of the new powers for administrative monetary penalties, a National Energy Board spokeswoman, Rebecca Taylor, defended the absence of fines, pointing instead toward a long list of its enforcement actions over violations, spills or explosions involving major pipeline companies such as Transcanada, Enbridge, Kinder Morgan and Plains Midstream Canada in recent months and years. Some of the incidents which prompted enforcement actions or orders from the board occurred before July 3, when regulations, in support of the 2012 federal budget, were adopted to give the regulator its new powers that were meant to crack down on safety risks. “We’re happy to have that tool (for administrative monetary penalties) in our tool kit but it’s only one of the tools we have available,” said Taylor. he Canadian Energy Pipeline Association didn’t immediately respond to questions from Postmedia News on Friday about the absence of fines. Opposition critics said they were generally supportive of the new powers, but they suggested that the government should do more to enforce regulations. The board’s website highlights a series of recent enforcement actions and reports including some of the following cases:
A Dec. 31 report into a ruptured pipeline in northern Alberta operated by TransCanada concluded that the 2009 incident was caused by rust, and the result of bad management and inadequate inspections by the company. An Aug. 30 letter to rans Canada asked the company to provide new reports explaining nearly a dozen battery explosions at stations across its pipeline operations from 2009, 2011 and 2012.
An Aug. 2 order required Kinder Morgan to reduce pressure on its western Canadian Trans Mountain line following a pair of leaks from June 2013 that were detected after the board had ordered the company to test cracking features on the line.
A June 3 letter to Enbridge asked the company to im- prove safety practices and report back on results following a pair of “overpressure incidents” at its Edmonton terminal.
A March 15 letter to Enbridge asked the company to deliver an action plan by April 15 to explain how it would fix inadequate emergency shut down systems in 117 out of 125 pumping stations across Canada.
“We’re seeing the results clearly as the number of leaks and spills increases,” said NDP natural resources critic Peter Julian. “I just don’t think the Conservatives were honest when they said last year, at the cost of tens of millions of taxpayer’s dollars, that somehow they fixed the problems and that companies would face consequences if they broke the law.”
Both Julian and Liberal environment critic John McKay questioned whether the government was serious about making polluters pay.
“A little less money on ads and a little more money on enforcement might go a long way,” McKay said.
But William Amos, director at the Ecojustice environmental law clinic at the University of Ottawa, suggested that the National Energy Board deserves the benefit of the doubt, given that the regulations for the new fines are relatively new.