When a new pipeline is built, safety is the number one priority. That starts right at the planning and design stages, when environmental and engineering assessments are completed, the safest route is selected and materials are chosen.
What many people don’t realize is, before the first pipe is laid in the ground a detailed emergency response plan is also put into place. Even though 99.999 per cent of the product transported in Canada’s transmission pipelines reaches its destination safely, operators are legally required by their respective provincial or federal regulator to plan for all possibilities.
Pipeline operators have an emergency response plan for every pipeline they operate – each one is tailored to the type of product being transported, environmental considerations along the route and more.
Around each of these actions, the plan details procedures, allocates roles, responsibilities and a chain of command and defines communication.
The plan addresses different scenarios and identifies potential hazards for people or the environment. It also outlines actions and mitigations for all these possibilities.
The most robust plan is only as effective as the people implementing it, so pipeline operators test their emergency response plans. CEPA members held 386 emergency response exercises in 2015, as these exercises provide an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the plan in different scenarios, and ensure that employees, first responders, local agencies and authorities are clear and confident on the procedures and roles. CEPA members have also agreed to assist each other in an event of an emergency through the Mutual Emergency Assistance Agreement.
Join CEPA and other major industry players at Disaster Forum, May 8-11 2017. Register now.