Executive Summary
On November 28, 2012, the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources initiated a study of the safe transportation of bulk hydrocarbons by transmission pipelines, tankers and railcars in Canada.
The goal was to examine the current state of emergency and spill prevention, preparedness and response frameworks under federal authority and to make recommendations to improve public safety and the protection of the environment.
The study is set within the context of growing hydrocarbon production in North America and the need to secure and diversify export markets. It is expected that pipelines, tankers and rail will expand their existing capacity and/or routes as hydrocarbon production increases.
The shocking Lac-Mégantic rail disaster that took place on July 6, 2013, has intensified the need to address hydrocarbon transportation safety. Due to the scope of the disaster, the committee concluded that an arm’s-length review of rail safety is necessary in Canada. The committee also made specific recommendations aimed at improving railway safety culture and enhancing rail safety for tank cars, regulatory oversight of the transport of dangerous goods and liability thresholds related to rail accidents. It was recommended that Transport Canada work in partnership with railway companies to make existing safety culture assessments mandatory within its audit program.
Including rail transportation recommendations, the committee made a total of 13 recommendations. There are five recommendations related to marine spills. They include expanding spill data collection, modernizing spill preparedness and response capacities and providing responder immunity protection for marine response organizations that assist in non-ship source marine spills.
There are two pipeline recommendations: first, that the National Energy Board develop a program to audit for safety culture; and second, that the federal government facilitate a national access point for information on buried utility infrastructure to prevent third party damage by excavators. There is one general recommendation to the National Energy Board and Transport Canada to provide information on transportation-related oil and gas spills in an accessible manner.
For the most part, oil and natural gas are moved safely in Canada. Transmission pipelines moved liquid product 99.9996% of the time without spills in Canada1 and railcars have an average of 99.9% for dangerous goods.2 This type of ratio was not available for tankers but major tanker spills are rare; the last one that occurred in Canada was over 30 years ago.
Transportation systems operate within a highly regulated environment. There are extensive regulatory frameworks, management systems, standards and practices all serving to promote safety. However, no activity is without risk. Hydrocarbon spills do occur and sometimes major disasters happen. Each major accident is carefully examined to learn what went wrong so that improvements can be made.
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1. Natural Resources Canada, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Concerning Federally-Regulated Petroleum Pipelines in Canada.
2. Railway Association of Canada, The Movement of Dangerous Goods