City of Kingston Information Report to Rural Advisory Committee Report Number RAC

Transcription

1 To: From: Resource Staff: City of Kingston Information Report to Rural Advisory Committee Report Number RAC Chair and Members of the Rural Advisory Committee Cynthia Beach, Commissioner, Corporate and Strategic Initiatives Date of Meeting: Subject: Executive Summary: Paul MacLatchy, Director, Environment and Sustainable Initiatives Overview of Major Petroleum Pipelines within Kingston This report is provided for information purposes in response to a request from the Rural Advisory Committee for information on the state of major petroleum pipelines within Kingston and associated issues. Presently there are three major petroleum pipelines that traverse through the City of Kingston: Trans-Northern Pipelines (refined liquid petroleum products) TransCanada Pipelines (compressed natural gas) Enbridge Line 9B (heavy oils) Operation of these pipelines in Ontario and Quebec is regulated by the National Energy Board (NEB). Presently the Enbridge and TransCanada pipelines are engaged in obtaining regulatory approvals from the NEB to permit expansion of conveyance capacity within a new pipeline running parallel and adjacent to the existing natural gas pipeline and, in the case of Enbridge, flow reversal and changes to type of petroleum product transported. Trans Canada s application is in early stages whereas Enbridge s application has been approved by the NEB subject to a variety of conditions that must be satisfied before Leave to Open can proceed. Recommendation: No recommendation is provided. This report is for information only. 37

2 Page 2 of 11 Authorizing Signatures: Cynthia Beach, Commissioner, Corporate and Strategic Initiatives Gerard Hunt, Chief Administrative Officer Consultation with the following Commissioners: Lanie Hurdle, Community Services Denis Leger, Transportation, Facilities & Emergency Services Jim Keech, President and CEO, Utilities Kingston Not required Not required Not required 38

3 Page 3 of 11 Options/Discussion: In April 2013, in relation to discussion of Enbridge s Line 9B pipeline flow reversal application, the Rural Advisory Committee requested a staff briefing on general concerns associated with all pipelines that travel through the City of Kingston s boundaries. There are three major petroleum pipelines that pass through the City of Kingston as follows: 1. Enbridge Pipelines Limited s Line 9B 2. Trans Canada Pipelines Limited s Canadian Mainline Pipeline 3. Trans Northern Pipelines Incorporated s Ontario-Quebec Pipeline The general location of the three pipelines through Kingston is shown on the attached Exhibit A. Operating and maintenance procedures, the types of materials permitted for transport (tariffs), and applications for expansions, reversals or other major modifications are regulated by the National Energy Board (NEB). All pipelines regulated by the NEB have specific rights in law to occupy private lands and lands owned by Provincial and municipal governments once permissions to construct the pipeline have been granted by the NEB. Nevertheless the NEB Act of Canada requires that pipeline companies seek agreements with affected landowners that govern compensation paid by the pipeline company to the landowners and terms by which the landowner can continue to use the affected lands. The NEB Act of Canada also sets out rights for landowners who dispute the proposed alignment of pipelines or who cannot reach acceptable agreement on the terms of land access. Each of the three pipelines is described within the following sections. Enbridge Pipelines Limited s Line 9B Line 9B is part of Enbridge Pipelines Limited s (Enbridge) Line 9 system that presently transports light and medium crude oils and condensates through 524 miles of 30-inch diameter steel underground pipe from Montreal to Enbridge s Mainline system at Sarnia. The Line 9B pipeline presently can transport up to 38,200 cubic metres (240,300 barrels) of crude oil per day. Line 9 was constructed in the 1970s to supply crude oil from western Canada to Port of Montreal refineries. The line was reversed in the 1990 s as imported crude oil imports became more affordable with flow from east to the west. The pipeline has connection to a network of other pipelines making delivery beyond southern Ontario possible. Line 9 consists of two segments; Line 9A running from Sarnia, Ontario to the Westover Station near Hamilton and Line 9B running from Westover to Montreal. The Line 9B segment passes through the City of Kingston as shown on Exhibit A. 39

4 Page 4 of 11 On November 29, 2012 Enbridge filed an application to the NEB to: 1. Reverse the flow direction within Line 9 from North Westover to Montreal (Line 9B) from east to west to west to east, 2. Increase existing pipeline capacity by 25% from 240,000 bpd to 300,000 bpd without an increase in maximum permitted pipeline pressure through the use of a Drag Reducing Agent (DRA), and 3. Revise the Line 9 tariff to allow for the transportation of a variety of crude oils including heavy crude and diluted bitumen within Line 9B. Enbridge also requested relief from the NEB s Leave to Open process. The City of Kingston, with direction from City Council, the Environment Infrastructure and Transportation policies Committee, the Rural Advisory Committee and the Kingston Environmental Advisory Committee, participated in the NEB s review process by gaining Participant status, by providing a Letter of Comment, and by collaborative consultation with the a group of similarly affected Lake Ontario municipalities whose common interests were brought forward by the City of Toronto as Interveners within the NEB review process. On March 6, 2014 the NEB issued its Decision of Approval on Enbridge s application. The NEB s decision can be located at the following website: Decision_OH _-_A3V1E4.pdf?nodeid= &vernum=-2 The NEB approved Enbridge s plan for flow reversal, capacity expansion and change in tariff but did not approve relief from Leave to Open requirements. The NEB imposed numerous conditions that must be undertaken to the satisfaction of the NEB as part of a Leave to Open application. Specific issues raised within the City of Kingston s Letter of Comment were addressed by the NEB within their decision as follows: Hydrostatic Testing: The NEB has not ordered Enbridge to undertake hydrostatic testing at this time. Rather they have imposed a number of conditions (Condition 9 and 10) which require Enbridge to provide significant details on the results of additional pipeline integrity studies and their corporate approach to hydrostatic testing (Condition 11) prior to application for Leave to Open (LTO). The NEB has stated their intention to revisit the issue of hydrostatic testing once the additional information is provided and may yet make it a condition for LTO. Financial Assurance: The NEB has not imposed any condition that is specific to financial assurance or insurance but has stated that general Condition 3 compels Enbridge to operate with sufficient funding to repair damages in the event of a pipeline failure. It is notable that the entire NEB review board did not share this opinion and a minority report on the matter of financial assurance was included within the Reason for Decision. 40

5 Page 5 of 11 Additional isolation valves to protect water crossings: The NEB has ruled that additional valves are likely required and have directed Enbridge (Condition 16) to provide technical evidence for where new valves (if any) would be located prior to applying for LTO. This may result in additional isolation valves being provided to protect Kingston area watercourses that do not presently have isolation valves (i.e. Millhaven Creek, Glenvale Creek, Collins Creek). Coordinated and Comprehensive Approach to Emergency Preparedness and Response: The NEB has directed Enbridge via several conditions (Conditions 13, 14, 20, 26) to prepare and submit emergency response plans specific to Line 9B. Age and Condition of Water Crossings: The NEB has required Enbridge (Condition 18) to submit Watercourse Crossing Management Plans (WCMPs) prior to applying for LTO and within 12 months of operating start, an update to the WMCPs with addition of technical detail (Condition 25). Effects of Transporting Diluted Bitumen: The NEB has concluded that the operational history of Line 9 and the results of scientific studies provided by Enbridge do not support the hypothesis that transport of diluted bitumen poses an increased risk of corrosion or pipeline failure. Leak Detection: The NEB has required (Condition 12) that the Line 9B Leak Detection Strategy (LDS) be upgraded to meet newly released standards (CSA Z Annex E) and (Condition 22) that Enbridge file the results of its LDS within 30 days of receiving LTO. Other issues raised by Kingston within our Letter of Comment were not addressed within the NEB s Reasons for Decision. It is notable that the NEB has listed all items that Enbridge committed to undertaking during the course of the hearing process and has required that Enbridge maintain a publicly available and up to date list of these commitments. Enbridge s nearest operations centre is in Belleville, Ontario. Enbridge maintains a 24-7 emergency response centre that is reachable through Enbridge conducts periodic emergency responder training and invites City of Kingston response agencies (police, fire, public works, environment, etc.) to participate in training and table-top exercises. Trans Canada Pipelines Limited s Mainline The TransCanada Mainline is composed of two large diameter (20 and 24 inch) high pressure underground natural gas pipelines running through Kingston from west to east delivering natural gas from Western Canada to eastern customers including local distributors such as Utilities Kingston and Union Gas. The TransCanada Mainline runs within a right of way that is largely immediately adjacent to the right of way containing the Enbridge Line 9B pipeline. 41

6 Page 6 of 11 TCPL s nearest operations centre is located within Kingston at compressor station 142 on Highway 15 near Joyceville. TCPL maintains a 24-7 emergency response centre that is reachable through On May 8, 2014, TCPL applied to the NEB for authority to construct a new natural gas pipeline (Eastern Mainline Project) immediately adjacent to their existing Canada Mainline. If approved TCPL will construct up to 370km of new 36-inch diameter underground pipeline that will flow natural gas from west to east from Markham to Iroquois, Ontario. The project will require acquisition of additional right of way width to accommodate the new pipeline and TCPL has begun the process of approaching affected landowners including the City of Kingston in order to obtain access for the purpose of geotechnical testing to support pipeline design. TCPL s project description filed with the NEB can be accessed at the following link: On June 19, 2014 at the Days Inn 33 Benson Street, Kingston, TCPL will conduct a public information session in regard to their proposed new pipeline project. Trans Northern Pipelines Incorporated s Ontario-Quebec Pipeline Trans Northern Pipelines Incorporated (TNPI) owns and operates the Ontario-Quebec Pipeline which transports refined petroleum products from east to west every day. Product that may be transported within the pipeline includes: Gasolines Diesel fuels Aviation fuels Home heating oils The TNPI runs within a corridor that is well south of the Enbridge-TCPL route as shown on Exhibit A. The TNPI was constructed in 1952 and is approximately 10 in diameter, underground steel pipeline with anti-corrosion wrap and cathodic protection. There are no pumping stations or isolation valves for the TNPL within City of Kingston. The capacity of the TNPI pipeline varies within different sections but from Farran s Point (near Ingleside, ON) to Belleville the capacity is approximately 11,500 m 3 (72,000 barrels) per day TNPI maintains a 24-7 emergency response centre that is reachable through TNPI conducts periodic emergency responder training and invites City of Kingston response agencies (police, fire, public works, environment, etc.) to participate in training and table-top exercises. 42

7 Pipeline Safety, Prevention and Response Page 7 of 11 Each of the three major pipelines relies upon variations of the following industry standard practices to protect it from damage, prevent failure, prepare for emergencies and respond to incidents: Burial underground Corrosion resistant pipe wrapping Cathodic protection Real-time pressure monitoring Isolation valves Increased pipe thickness at water crossings Non-destructive testing and integrity digs Aerial surveillance and ground truthing Signage Land-use planning controls Access agreements with landowners that restrict activities that could pose a risk to pipeline integrity emergency response coordination offices. Emergency preparedness training including local responders. Pipeline Incidents and Regulator Interventions The following are summary descriptions of pipeline incidents and NEB orders related to the three pipelines that transect Kingston. NEB safety order and audit information was obtained from the National Energy Board website on May 18, Information on pipeline spills and failures was obtained from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation s website last updated October 29, 2013 which compiled listings of pipeline events published by the NEB (Pipeline Incident Database Jan 1, 2000 Nov 21, 2012 & The Canadian Regulated Pipeline: Rupture Excel Spreadsheet) and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB Investigation Reports; and Reportable Liquid Releases Jan April 2013): Enbridge s Line 9B: NEB Safety Order SO-E issued March 14, 2013 to Enbridge required various corrective actions be taken system-wide to correct non-compliance with regulations pertaining to emergency shutdown systems within pumping stations and specifically relating to lack of an emergency shutdown push button and alternate power sources for the emergency shutdown systems. On May 2, 2013 the NEB issued a letter confirming that Enbridge had satisfied condition 1 of the Safety Order by providing an acceptable Corrective Action Plan. Enbridge is in the process of implementing their Corrective Action Plan. CBC news reported that on November 2, 2005 approximately 3000 litres of sweet crude oil was spilled from Line 9 near Gananoque, Ontario when a backhoe working on a valve site struck and damaged the valve. 43

8 Page 8 of 11 Trans Canada Pipelines Mainline: The NEB have completed (posted April 24, 2014) operational audits related to TCPL s Safety Management Program, Public Awareness Program, Environmental Protection Program, Emergency Management Program and Third Party Crossings Program. Each audit discovered issues of non-compliance that did not require enforcement action but did require TCPL to submit corrective action plans to the NEB within 30 days of the audit dates. Between November 2012 and August 2013 the NEB conducted an audit of TCPL s integrity management programs and found deficiencies that resulted in a requirement for corrective actions. On May 1, 2014 the NEB issued a letter to TCPL stating that they had reviewed their Corrective Action Plan and found it satisfactory. NEB Safety Order SG-T issued August 29, 2013 to TCPL required TCPL to provide resolution to a number of conditions with respect to the potential for fires related to batteries within compressor stations in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. CBC News reported that on February 2, 2010 approximately 51,400 litres (51.4 m 3 ) of natural gas was released from TCPL s mainline near Belleville, Ontario when a valve failed. Trans Northern Pipelines Inc., Ontario-Quebec Pipeline: NEB Safety Order SO-T issued October 8, 2010 to TNPI required a reduction in operating pressures within its entire pipeline system as a result of several incidents and a lack of evidence that the TNPI Integrity Management Program was adequate and effective. The NEB granted application to increase pressure within the section of TNPI between Montreal and Farran s Point (near Ingleside, ON) following TNPI s satisfaction of various conditions within the Safety Order. There are no records of pipeline failure or reportable spills within the Kingston area but the Transportation Safety Board did record one incident at Farran s Point in 2009 where an unreported quantity of an unreported petroleum type was lost due to a pipeline crack (TSB Occurrence No. P09H0086). Aspects of Pipelines Relevant to Municipal Services and Jurisdiction The existence and operation of large petroleum pipelines through Kingston present benefits of access to energy and commercial property tax. The pipelines also present risk to the City of Kingston primarily through the potential for failures that may create risk to the environment, human health and business continuity. The following aspects are of particular relevance to the City of Kingston and its citizens: Land Use Planning: Good land use planning requires consideration of proper separation between large petroleum pipelines and land uses that could impose a risk to the pipeline or land users. The Ontario Planning Act includes the three pipeline operators as prescribed agencies that must be circulated on development applications (official plan and zoning bylaw amendments and subdivision applications). A full technical circulation is provided to pipeline 44

9 Page 9 of 11 operators when development applications are adjacent or in close proximity to a pipeline. Building permit applications are not subject to circulation to pipeline operators. Local Energy Access: Natural gas is supplied to local distributors Utilities Kingston and Union Gas and to direct bulk customers by the Trans Canada Mainline pipeline. The Trans Northern Pipeline supplies local bulk terminals with refined petroleum products. Emergency Preparedness and Response: Aside from general emergency contacts and awareness information available on-line, each of three pipeline companies has provided differing types of information and training at varying times to local first responder agencies (Fire & Rescue, Police, EMS, etc.) and the City s Emergency Management Program Committee. Information has consisted of the following notable items: In October 2010 TNPI provided a half-day table-top emergency exercise to local first responder agencies to review emergency management protocols and responsibilities. In 2006 TCPL provided the City s Emergency Management Program Committee with a presentation and documentation on their emergency response protocols and plans for pipeline emergencies. Enbridge has provided Kingston Fire and Rescue with access to on-line awareness training and documentation in regard to pipeline emergency response and preparedness. In 2014 Enbridge conducted a tabletop exercise with Kingston Fire and Rescue and Emergency Management Program Committee It is notable that the NEB s recent approval of Enbridge s Line 9B reversal project included conditions requiring updated emergency response and preparedness plans that include enhanced consultation and collaborative training with local first responders. This has already begun and Enbridge continues to work with Kingston Fire and Rescue on response and training issues. It is reasonable to assume that the NEB will continue to make collaboration with local first responders a condition of future pipeline approvals. Kinston Fire & Rescue and the Office of Emergency Management continue to train with Enbridge. Kingston Fire and Rescue staff have conducted training specific to the hazards related to Enbridge products in 2013 and continue to work closely with Enbridge. A tabletop exercise was conducted in early 2014 with an expanded training evolution slated for Enbridge is working with Kingston Fire and Rescue and Emergency Management Program Committee regarding response plans as required. Tax Assessment Revenues: The three major pipelines contributed the following in municipal property tax revenues to the City of Kingston in 2013: Trans Northern Pipelines Inc. - $19, Trans Canada Pipelines Ltd. - $169, Enbridge Pipelines Inc. - $175, Additional taxes were also received for education contributions. 45

10 Page 10 of 11 New Pipeline Projects: As reported to City Council on May 4, 2014 TCPL is proposing the addition of a new 36-inch diameter natural gas pipeline to its two existing 20 and 24 inch diameter lines and has identified the following City lands as being potentially affected by future construction: A portion of the K&P Trail located south of Unity Road and west of Cordukes Road where TCPL would require access for about 100 metres along the trail to the north and south of its existing pipeline easement. Access for pre-construction surveying is what is required and no permanent access is required. All of Shannon s Corners park on Perth Road All of 2394 Perth Road, being the Utilities Kingston City Gate natural gas regulating station, All of 2211 McKendry Road which is a vacant road allowance. City Council has authorized execution of Survey Acknowledgement Forms with TCPL so that the affected lands may be accessed for the purpose of pre-construction surveys and a preferred pipeline route can be determined. Staff will continue to keep City Council informed of any developments in TCPL s application to the NEB that have bearing on municipal affairs. Existing Policy/By Law: None. Notice Provisions: Not applicable to this report. Accessibility Considerations: This report is available in alternate formats. Financial Considerations: Not applicable to this report. Contacts: None Other City of Kingston Staff Consulted: Karen Fraser, Senior Planner 46

11 Page 11 of 11 Alan McLeod, Senior Legal Counsel Rheaume Chaput, Fire Chief, Kingston Fire and Rescue Exhibits Attached: Exhibit A Location of major pipelines through the City of Kingston 47

12 Joyceville Road Middle Road City of Kingston Boundary Kingston Mills Road Battersea Road City of Kingston Boundary Perth Road Collins Creek Little Cataraqui Creek Bur Brook Road EXHIBIT A: Pipelines Kingston, Ontario Sydneham Road Little Cataraqui Creek Princess Street N Unity Road Collins Creek Creekford Road Westbrook Road City of Kingston Boundary Environment & Sustainable Initiatives LEGEND 48 Trans-Northern Pipe Line Enbridge & Trans-Canada Pipe Lines May, 2014 Not to Scale