Compliance verification activity type: Field Inspection
Team:
Regulated company: NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd.
Operating company: NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd.
Province(s) / Territory(s):
Discipline(s):
Related events:
Rationale and scope:
Environmental inspection of construction of the Sundre Crossover Project located in Mountain View County approximately 1 km east of Sundre, Alberta. The focus of the inspection was to verify compliance to the Environmental Protection Plan for all construction activities occurring, with specific focus on disturbance to wetlands, including an area of special concern regarding a trespass issue on a landowner's property. Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL), a wholly owned subsidiary company of TransCanada Pipelines Limited, initially began construction in January 2018. The line is anticipated to be in service by 1 April 2018, with the final clean up phase to begin in June 2018, or as soon as weather, ground and/or seasonal conditions allow.
Compliance tool(s) used:
Facilities:
Facility Types
Life-cycle Phases
Regulatory requirements that apply to this activity:
Regulatory instrument number(s):
Observation 1 - Notice of Non-compliance (NNC#1) - Trespass
Date & time of visit: 2018-03-14 10:04
Discipline: Environmental Protection
Categories:
Facility:
Observations:
NEB inspectors went to the site of a reported trespass, and observed the following:
Compliance tool used: Notice of Non-compliance (NNC)
Regulatory requirement:
Relevant section(s):
Company action required:
In a previous environmental field inspection (CV1718-395) on the Project, NEB inspectors observed one instance of clear trespass, and another of potential trespass. The company’s repeated trespass actions indicate that despite the existence of commitments in the EPP, field staff communication and implementation procedures are lacking. The company is to provide the NEB with the following:
Due date: 2018-04-16
Date closed: 2018-07-09 Note: the date closed is the date that the inspector completed their review of the company corrective actions for adequacy and determined that no further actions are required.
Reason closed: Requirement met
Compliance achieved: Yes
Observation 2 - Notice of Non-Compliance (NNC#2) - Fire Extinguishers
Date & time of visit: 2018-03-14 11:50
Discipline: Safety Management
NEB inspectors were provided with a fire extinguisher for their vehicle during the field inspection. The inspection on that fire extinguisher was up to date. NEB inspectors examined the equipment D6T R287-D001. There was a fire extinguisher on the outside of the cab of the equipment. The tag on the fire extinguisher indicated that it had last been inspected in February 2018. As the out of date inspection tag was a repetition of the situation seen on the previous NEB environmental field inspection (CV1718-395), NEB inspectors did not attempt to examine the fire extinguishers in other equipment.
Fire extinguisher tags indicate whether or not a monthly inspection has occurred. With no tag present, or a tag indicating the last inspection as having occurred in a previous month, there is no confirmation that the fire extinguishers have been inspected to determine that they are fully charged and in working order. As this is a repetition of the situation seen by NEB inspectors on a previous environmental field inspection (CV1718-395) of the Project, NEB inspectors are of the view that despite the commitment in the EPP and other site-specific safety documentation, field staff communication and implementation procedures are lacking. The company had previously been requested to provide documentation indicating that equipment, contractor vehicles, and fuel storage tanks have fire extinguishers, and that the fire extinguishers are appropriately inspected and maintained (CV1718-395). At this time, the company is to provide documentation indicating what additional oversight will be undertaken with regards to monthly inspections of fire extinguishers to ensure that this situation does not occur again.
Due date: 2018-04-12
Observation 3 - Corrected Non-compliance (CNC#1) - Soil Separation
Date & time of visit: 2018-03-14 10:28
At KP11+860, NEB inspectors noted that windrowed topsoil and subsoil overlapped along the base of the two piles along the approximately 65m of the windrow. There was no separation layer (geotextile) between the two piles. NEB inspectors also reviewed company environmental inspectors' daily reports, which indicated that the overlap of spoil storage at several locations had been noted on 13 March 2018, the day prior to the NEB field inspection, and communicated to the contractor along with other instances of poor separation of soil layers.
Compliance tool used: Corrected Non-compliance (CNC)
The company is to ensure that soil layers are separated adequately by distance, or in restricted areas, by a geotextile layer between the different strata.
Due date: 2018-03-21
Date closed: 2018-03-16 Note: the date closed is the date that the inspector completed their review of the company corrective actions for adequacy and determined that no further actions are required.
There are no observations with outstanding follow-up
Observation 4 - General Observations
Date & time of visit: 2018-03-14 11:52
NEB inspectors noted the following general observations:
Compliance tool used: No compliance tool used
Observation 5 - Information Request (IR) #1 - Trespass, Construction Line List
Date & time of visit: 2018-04-24 14:00
During the field inspection, a trespass at KP12+230 was confirmed. The company’s stated explanation at the time as to why this trespass had occurred is that there had been arrangements made with adjacent landowners to use extra space, but that contractors had not confirmed that the landowner at KP12+230 had made no such arrangements. NEB inspectors requested that the company provide the construction line list, and assess the compliance of this list and its commitments with the Order and EPP. The company’s response did not provide the complete construction line list. This IR is written to be more explicit.
Compliance tool used: Information Request (IR)
NEB requests that the company do the following:
Due date: 2018-05-03
Observation 6 - Information Request (IR) #2 - Fire Extinguishers, audit
Date & time of visit: 2018-04-26 14:00
In response to NNC#2, where it was noted that fire extinguishers with expired stickers were a repeated non-compliance in CV1718-395 and this inspection CV1718-404, the company stated that the TransCanada Safety Lead has conducted an audit on fire extinguishers on all remaining equipment. The results of this audit were not provided.
The company is to provide to NEB the report for the audit of fire extinguishers on remaining equipment, conducted by the TransCanada Safety Lead after the field visit for CV1718-404.
Date closed: 2018-05-04 Note: the date closed is the date that the inspector completed their review of the company corrective actions for adequacy and determined that no further actions are required.
Observation 7 - Information Request (IR) #3 - Fire Extinguishers, communication
In response to NNC#2, where it was noted that fire extinguishers with expired stickers were a repeated non-compliance in CV1718-395 and this inspection CV1718-404, the company indicated that the importance of ensuring that fire extinguisher equipment is inspected was to be added to the remaining Daily Tailgate meeting agenda, and that this is communicated during Project kick-off meetings, safety evaluations and lessons learned meetings.
The company is to provide the following to NEB
Due date: 2018-06-29
Identified non-compliances to company plans or procedures are non-compliances either to:
- the condition of an authorization document that requires the implementation of that plan or procedure; or
- the relevant section of the regulations that requires implementation of that plan or procedure including those sections that require implementation of plans or procedures as a part of a Program
Observation 8 - Information caviardée conformément au paragraphe 144(5) du Code canadien du travail
This information has been redacted pursuant to Section 144(5) of the Canada Labour Code