Memorandum of Understanding between the National Energy Board and the Energy Resources Conservation Board

Memorandum of Understanding between the National Energy Board and the Energy Resources Conservation Board [PDF 111 KB]

1 Purpose

The National Energy Board (NEB) of Canada and the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) of Alberta (together "the parties") enter into this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to

1. 1) establish a protocol between the parties whereby each agency may provide assistance to the other in respect of emergency response;
2. 2) enhance cooperation and coordination between the parties for the purpose of improving pipeline safety within Canada and the province of Alberta; and
3. 3) establish agreement for coordinating training and technical liaison in areas of common interest.

2 Background

The ERCB is charged under the Oil and Gas Conservation Act, the Pipeline Act, and the Oil Sands Conservation Act with the responsibility to ensure the control and containment of any accidental release of oil, gas, or water from an energy industry-related facility within its jurisdiction. This may include sour gas releases, blowouts from drilling or servicing operations, oil or saltwater spills, sweet gas releases, high vapour pressure product releases and fires related to oil and gas facilities and pipelines. This responsibility is accomplished, in part, by the mandatory notification of any accident, incident, or spill by the energy industry to the ERCB, which has the support of expert technical staff and an extensive field network situated throughout Alberta. This allows for a speedy response with a unified command approach to incidents.

The NEB is charged under the National Energy Board Act with the responsibility to regulate the safe design, construction, operation, and abandonment of interprovincial and international oil and gas pipelines; it may investigate accidents involving those pipelines;^[1] hold a public inquiry into and make findings as to the cause of the accident or factors contributing to it; make recommendations relating to the prevention of similar accidents; and issue orders related to the design, operation, and abandonment of pipelines. The NEB is also responsible for ensuring that appropriate emergency response plans are in place for pipelines under its jurisdiction. An NEB-regulated company is required, under the provisions of the Onshore Pipeline Regulations, 1999, to notify the NEB of any incident relating to the construction, operation, or abandonment of its pipeline. The NEB's response is dependent on the nature of the incident.

[1] "'Pipeline' means a line that is used or to be used for the transmission of oil, gas or any other commodity and that connects with any other province or provinces or extends beyond the limits of a province or the offshore area as defined in section 123, and includes all branches, extensions, tanks, reservoirs, storage facilities, pumps, racks, compressors, loading facilities, interstation systems of communication by telephone, telegraph or radio and real and personal property, or immovable and movable, and works connected to them, but does not include a sewer or water pipeline that is used or proposed to be used solely for municipal purposes" (NEB Act, section 2).

Because of the recent transfer of regulatory oversight of the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. system from provincial to federal jurisdiction and the reorganization of the provincial regulator, this MOU supersedes the 1995 MOU between the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (predecessor of the ERCB) and the National Energy Board.

3 Terms of Agreement

3.1 Response to Pipeline Incidents or Emergencies

1) The ERCB agrees to provide emergency response assistance to the NEB when incidents occur on NEB-regulated pipelines within Alberta. The scope of the ERCB's emergency response assistance to the NEB is described in Appendix B: ERCB Field Centre Protocol for Response to Emergencies on NEB-Regulated Pipelines.

2) The ERCB's assistance will normally be provided by the ERCB Field Centre closest to the incident site. ERCB field staff will monitor and assess the pipeline company's emergency response, including the company's ability to

• manage the emergency,
• ensure the safety of the public, and
• minimize damage to the environment.

The ERCB field staff will provide timely updates to the NEB and, where necessary, recommend to the NEB any action that may be required of the company. The initial response by the ERCB will continue until such time as NEB personnel arrive at the site or ERCB field staff have been relieved by NEB personnel.

3) When providing assistance to the NEB response to an emergency on an NEB-regulated pipeline, the ERCB may obtain information required to determine

• if ERCB-licensed pipelines or facilities were impacted or if there is potential for impact;
• if there is specialized assistance that the ERCB could provide in mitigating impacts on the public or environment; and
• if there is specialized assistance that the ERCB could provide to ensure that the provincial response is appropriate in relation to the consequences of the incident.

Specialized assistance will be provided to the NEB response after consultation with the NEB Emergency Response Officer (ERO) or the NEB Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).

4) The NEB will remain responsible for the investigation of all incidents and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the cleanup and rehabilitation operations for the pipelines it regulates.

5) If the ERCB provides emergency response assistance to the NEB, the NEB agrees to provide the ERCB with a final incident report, subject to the conditions prescribed in Clause 4 of this MOU.

3.2 Cooperation and Coordination on Pipeline Safety

1) When either party commences an enforcement action with a company on a directly connected portion of its federally and provincially regulated pipeline network, the party commencing the action will notify the NEB Business Unit Leader, Operations, or the ERCB Field Surveillance Operations Leader, as appropriate.

3.3 Training and Technical Cooperation

1) The parties will examine and pursue opportunities for training and technical cooperation and collaboration to minimize duplication of effort, more effectively and efficiently use existing staff and technical knowledge, reduce regulatory burden, achieve consistency in methodologies and approach, and set the tone for cooperative efforts.

2) The parties will pursue technical exchange of staff when considered suitable and appropriate.

4 Information Exchange

1) To the extent any investigation reports, findings, and company information are shared in furtherance of the purposes of this MOU, each party will protect any non-public records or portions thereof provided by the other party from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with applicable law.

2) Both parties agree that each will specify when information it provides is being submitted "in confidence" so that the receiving party can refuse disclosure of that material in accordance with the federal Access to Information Act, the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and other applicable legislation.

3) In situations where the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is actively investigating or intends to investigate an incident on NEB-regulated-pipelines, the NEB and the ERCB are precluded from investigating and disclosing information regarding the incident's cause and contributing factors until the TSB has released its findings.

5 Costs

1) Cost recovery for activities associated with this agreement is not part of this MOU. However, if an incident occurs where this is an issue, discussions will follow accordingly to address the matter. Generally, each organization will be responsible for its own costs.

2) Each party will cover all relevant costs for its respective staff involved in a technical exchange.

6 Legal Liability

1) This MOU indicates the intentions of the parties but does not create a contractual obligation between them.

2) Nothing in this MOU or any annex is intended to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any person or organization against either party, its agencies or officers, agencies or officers carrying out programs authorized under federal or provincial law, or any other person.

7 Other Provisions

1) Nothing in this MOU or any appendix is intended to impose any funding obligations on either of the parties. Nothing in this MOU or any annex is intended to diminish or otherwise affect the authority of either party to carry out its statutory, regulatory, or other official functions or to commit either party to providing a particular service it would not otherwise provide in the scope of its individual mission and functions.

2) This MOU and any annexes hereto may be amended or modified at any time by written agreement of the NEB Chief Operating Officer and the ERCB Chief Operating Officer.

3) Should disagreement arise on the interpretation of any provision of this MOU or any amendments and/or modifications thereto that cannot be resolved at the operating level, the area(s) of disagreement will be stated in writing by each party and presented to the other party for consideration. If agreement on interpretation is not reached within thirty days, the parties will forward the written presentation of the disagreement to their respective Chief Operating Officers for appropriate resolution.

8 Principal Contacts

The parties designate the principal contacts identified in Appendix A. Each party's contact may be changed at its discretion upon notice to the other party.

9 Effective Period/Termination

This MOU is effective as of the date of the last signature of either party and will remain in effect until terminated by either party. Either party may terminate this MOU and any annexes hereto upon written notice to the other party.

10 Periodic Review and Consultation

The parties agree that on a regular basis appropriate staff from both organizations will meet to review the content and continued relevance of this MOU, as deemed necessary. Proposals for changes to this MOU can be made at any time and appropriate amendments made as may be agreed upon in writing.

APPROVED BY:

Appendix A - Principal contacts

National Energy Board
Ms. Sandy Lapointe
Business Leader, Operations Business Unit
210-517 10 Ave SW
Calgary AB  T2R 0A8
Telephone: 403-292-4800
Fax: 403-292-5876

Energy Resources Conservation Board
Mr. Gary Neilson
Manager, Emergency Management Group
640 - 5 Avenue SW
Calgary AB T2P 3G4
E-mail: gary.neilson@ercb.ca
Telephone: 403-297-6306
Fax: 403-297-3520

Appendix B - ERCB Field Centre Protocol for Response to Emergencies on NEB Regulated Pipelines

Appendix C - NEB-ERCB Process Flowchart

Click here to view a larger version of this image.

Transportation Safety Board - TSB
National Energy Board - NEB
Energy Resources Conservation Board - ERCB

Appendix D - Key Contacts NEB-ERCB MOU

Date modified:

2023-07-14