Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 150, Number 12: National Energy Board Pipeline Damage Prevention Regulations – Authorizations

March 19, 2016

Statutory authority

National Energy Board Act

Sponsoring agency

National Energy Board

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the regulations.)

Issues

The Pipeline Safety Act, which received royal assent on June 18 2015, amends the National Energy Board Act (NEB Act) to modernize its regulation-making authority. The proposed regulations will clarify what the requirements are to safely carry out construction, ground disturbances, or crossings around a pipeline. As a result, the National Energy Board's (“NEB” or “Board”) damage prevention regulations must be updated to provide clear requirements for the public, landowners and land users, and pipeline companies that may be planning to conduct an activity around a pipeline.

In addition, the proposed regulations make other amendments that are not consequential to the Pipeline Safety Act. Specifically, the proposal formalizes and consolidates damage prevention program requirements so that a consistent approach is taken by regulated companies.

The proposal includes a requirement that NEB-regulated pipeline companies be members of one-call centres in areas where they operate pipelines, and where one-call centres exist, to share their infrastructure location information with the one-call centre for information coordination. The proposal also requires anyone planning an activity near a pipeline to initiate locate requests through these one-call centres so that damage to pipelines can be prevented.

Background

Under the NEB Act, the responsibility to prevent pipeline damage is shared between anyone who plans to conduct an activity near a pipeline and the pipeline company. Pipeline companies are required to ensure that people know how to safely conduct activities near pipelines, and people planning activities near pipelines are required to confirm the location of pipelines and meet all permission conditions before they start these activities. The NEB provides regulatory oversight for both, and must create the conditions necessary to hold persons and companies accountable for carrying out these responsibilities. The NEB's compliance verification and enforcement activities support this framework and are used to promote safety and environmental protection.

The Pipeline Safety Act, which received royal assent on June 18, 2015, amends the NEB's regulation-making authority for damage prevention in the NEB Act, therefore requiring that new regulations be in place by June 19, 2016. This proposal reflects the changes to the legislative authority for the NEB's damage prevention regulatory framework.

In addition, over recent years, the NEB has conducted extensive review of and consultation on best practices for pipeline damage prevention. As a result of this work, formalizing the requirement for a pipeline company to have a damage prevention program and including one-call centre requirements for companies and anyone planning an activity near a pipeline are included in the proposal.

The proposal applies to the following regulations.

Objectives

The objectives of this proposal are to

Description

The Pipeline Safety Act amendments to the NEB Act come into force on June 19, 2016, requiring that the NEB's damage prevention regulations be updated by that date. In addition, the NEB had proposed amendments to the regulations, and consulted on these in 2014. Below is a description of the complete proposal.

Ground disturbance, construction and crossings near a pipeline (proposed amendments resulting from the Pipeline Safety Act)

The Pipeline Safety Act enables modernization of the NEB Act damage prevention regulations and provides clarity to pipeline companies, landowners and land users and to everyone working around pipelines on requirements to safely carry out ground disturbances, construction, or crossings near a pipeline.

Ground disturbance and prescribed area

The Pipeline Safety Act amends the NEB Act to prohibit any ground disturbance near a pipeline, unless the activity is authorized by an order or by regulations. The Pipeline Safety Act replaces references to the activities of excavating using power equipment or explosives within 30 m of the pipeline with the term “ground disturbance” within the prescribed area. The Pipeline Safety Act further specifies that the following are not considered to be ground disturbance: (1) cultivation to a depth of less than 45 cm below the surface of the ground, and (2) any other activity to a depth of less than 30 cm and that does not result in a reduction of the earth cover over the pipeline to a depth that is less than the cover provided when the pipeline was constructed.

Under the Pipeline Safety Act, the NEB may make orders or regulations prescribing the area where ground disturbance is prohibited. The NEB may also set out in orders or regulations the conditions and measures to be met in order for ground disturbance activities to be permitted within a prescribed area. The prescribed area is the measurable distance within which activity that may cause a ground disturbance is prohibited unless strict conditions are met, and the responsibilities of both persons and pipeline companies are identified.

In the proposed regulations, the prescribed area is defined as a strip of land measured 30 m perpendicularly on each side from the centre line of a pipe. Given this definition of prescribed area, all planned activities that would cause a ground disturbance within 30 m from either side of the centre line of a pipe would only be authorized if the conditions provided in the regulations are met. If these conditions cannot be met, the person may file an application of authorization with the Board for these activities to occur.

The proposed regulations maintain the conditions and measures found in the current regulations. For example, a person planning to engage in an activity that would cause a ground disturbance or construct a facility near a pipeline would still need to

Construction

Similarly, the conditions and measures contained in the current regulations have been maintained in the proposed regulations for construction activities near a pipeline. For example, a person planning to construct a facility near a pipeline would still need to

The current regulations contain a requirement that overhead lines across pipelines are to be installed in accordance with the minimum ground-to-wire clearance in standard C22.3, No. 1-M87, 1987, of the Canadian Standards Association (published in French in 1989). Instead, the proposed regulations will state that construction of an overhead line across a pipeline must comply with provincial and federal laws.

Crossings

Currently, the NEB Act provides that anyone wishing to operate a vehicle or mobile equipment across a pipeline must obtain permission from the pipeline company, unless the vehicle or mobile equipment is operated within the travelled portion of a highway or public road. The Pipeline Safety Act amends the NEB Act to prohibit crossing a pipeline by vehicle or mobile equipment unless measures in regulations are followed or a Board order authorizes the crossing. The proposed regulations provide that anyone planning to cross a pipeline with a vehicle or mobile equipment would require consent from the pipeline company before crossing the pipeline and must follow any conditions identified by the company.

The proposed regulations also incorporate the intent of NEB Exemption Order MO-21-2010 (Low Risk Crossings by Agricultural Vehicles). Specifically, vehicles or mobile equipment used for agricultural purposes may cross pipelines if the loaded axle weight and tire pressures are within the manufacturer's approved limits and the point of crossing has not been identified by the pipeline company as a location where agricultural activities have the potential to damage the pipeline. Such crossings will also be subject to the requirements related to activities causing ground disturbances outlined above and if applicable.

Pipeline companies

The current regulations provide that the regulations do not apply to excavation caused by an NEB-regulated pipeline company. The proposed regulations include specific requirements for authorization of a pipeline company to conduct activity causing a ground disturbance within a prescribed area, construct a facility near a pipeline, or operate a vehicle or mobile equipment across the pipeline. The requirements include authorization under other NEB Act authorizations (e.g. certificates or orders); conducting a locate request for an activity causing a ground disturbance or construction; and, if it is not the requesting company's pipeline, the pipeline must be marked and the markings explained to the company intending to carry out the construction or activity.

Application for authorization

In any of the situations described above (i.e. for a person planning to engage in an activity that may cause a ground disturbance, or to construct a facility, or to operate a vehicle or mobile equipment across a pipeline), if consent cannot be obtained from the pipeline company, or the measures in the regulations cannot be met, the process in the proposed regulations continues to be, as it is in the current regulatory scheme, that the person could apply to the Board for an authorization to conduct the activity.

Renaming regulations

The proposal would rename the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I as the National Energy Board Pipeline Damage Prevention Regulations – Authorizations and the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part II as the National Energy Board Pipeline Damage Prevention Regulations – Obligations of Pipeline Companies.

Formalizing and consolidating damage prevention practices and requirements

Prior to the issuance of the Pipeline Safety Act, the NEB had consulted with stakeholders over a three-year period on proposed amendments to regulations that would formalize damage prevention requirements and practices. These are described below.

Damage prevention program

Current NEB regulations require that all pipeline companies have pipeline damage prevention provisions, and most companies already have a damage prevention program in place as industry best practice. The proposed regulations will consolidate existing requirements to ensure that a clear damage prevention program is in place. The proposed regulations also identify the specific components of a damage prevention program. Such a program includes consolidating requirements for a public awareness program to inform the public on how to work safely around the pipeline; how to report an emergency or any contact with, or damage to, a pipeline; how to use the services of a one-call centre; the necessity for prior authorization when conducting certain activities near a pipeline; the information to be provided in requests for consent prior to conducting an activity; and the requirement to make a locate request and how to do so. The proposed regulations also consolidate the requirements for monitoring of land use and land ownership changes near a pipeline; a process for timely responses to locate requests; standards for locating pipes; and a process for managing requests for consent under the regulations.

Consolidating the requirements in the proposed regulations will allow NEB-regulated pipeline companies to have better defined damage prevention programs, which will improve mitigation and prevention efforts and provide for more detailed engagement with the public on pipeline damage prevention. This will serve to improve overall pipeline safety and environmental protection.

One-call centre requirements

The proposed regulations include the requirement for a NEB-regulated pipeline company to be a member of a one-call centre in the geographic areas across Canada where it operates a pipeline and where a one-call centre exists. A one-call centre is an organization that receives locate requests, and for each locate request received, notifies the potentially affected members of any construction or activities that are the subject of the locate request. One-call centre members participate in this effort for the purpose of protecting their facilities from damage and of ensuring public safety. The proposed regulations also require that a company's public awareness program inform the public of the services of a one-call centre in the area.

The proposed regulations require that anyone planning to construct a facility or conduct an activity that would cause a ground disturbance in a prescribed area initiate a locate request through the one-call centre that services the area in question at least three working days before the day on which the construction or activity is to start. Where a one-call centre does not exist, a person must contact the pipeline company directly. NEB-regulated pipeline companies will continue to be required to clearly mark their pipelines.

Existing permissions

The proposed regulations contain transitional clauses to capture existing permissions related to the construction of a facility near a pipeline, excavation using power equipment or explosives within 30 m of a pipeline, and crossings by vehicle or mobile equipment. Transitional clauses allow the activities to continue under the existing permission without causing an unnecessary delay due to the new regulations.

Administrative monetary penalties

The NEB uses various types of enforcement activities throughout the life cycle of a pipeline. These include the issuance of notices of non-compliance, orders, directions, and administrative monetary penalties (AMPs); the suspension of authorizations; and prosecution. AMPs are applied when they are the most appropriate tool, such as when compliance is not obtained using other enforcement tools or when harm is caused because of non-compliance.

The NEB AMPs Regulations identify violations of specific provisions of NEB regulations that could cause violators to be subject to an administrative monetary penalty. They outline when penalties apply and how the amount is calculated. The NEB AMPs Regulations provide that if a company or individual does not agree with the notice of violation, the company or individual can request that the Board review the amount of the penalty, the facts of the violation, or both, within 30 days of receiving the notice. There are no changes to the enforcement or recourse processes in the proposed regulations.

Through the proposal, the NEB AMPs Regulations would be amended to reflect the changes in the proposed regulations. Typographical updates to align section numbering would be made. The list of violations in the NEB AMPs Regulations would be updated to match the proposed regulations; this would include, for example, mention of the failure of a pipeline company to belong to a one-call centre or the failure of a person to follow a measure required if ground disturbance is being planned.

“One-for-One” Rule

There are no incremental administrative requirements associated with the proposed regulations, and the “One-for-One” Rule does not apply.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to the proposed regulations.

Consultation

The NEB issued a letter on its Web site on October 20, 2015, providing information that the NEB's damage prevention regulations must be updated following adoption of the Pipeline Safety Act, and that the previously proposed amendments would be carried forward into the proposed regulations. Interested parties were asked to provide input by November 13, 2015. In addition to being available on the NEB Web site, these materials were distributed to groups that had shown previous interest in the NEB's damage prevention regulations. The NEB received 18 letters of comment from a variety of groups including landowner and damage prevention associations, industry associations, farming and agricultural and sod associations, a municipality, and NEB-regulated companies and interested individuals.

Eight submissions provided input on the term “prescribed area,” with recommendations for alternative terms and suggested distances. The Pipeline Safety Act authorizes the NEB to set the prescribed area in regulations, along with conditions and measures that must be met if certain types of activities are planned within that area. The NEB has consulted on the measurable distance in previous years, and stakeholders have requested an accurate and reliable method for measuring the area near a pipeline where conditions apply for preventing damage to a pipeline. The prescribed area is defined as 30 m perpendicularly on each side from the centre line of a pipe in the proposed regulations. This distance can be accurately measured and is a balanced approach to meet the needs of the pipeline companies and landowners and land users, or anyone working around a pipeline.

Eight submissions provided input on the term “ground disturbance,” including a request that ground disturbance be positively defined in the regulations. Any ground disturbance, as the term is defined in the Pipeline Safety Act, is prohibited unless authorized by Board order or regulations. There are two exceptions: (1) cultivation to a depth of less than 45 cm below the surface of the ground; and (2) any other activity to a depth of less than 30 cm and that does not result in a reduction of the earth cover over the pipeline to a depth that is less than the cover provided when the pipeline was constructed. The Board only has the authority to outline what is not considered ground disturbance for the purposes of the Pipeline Safety Act.

Nine submissions requested exemptions for certain activities near a pipeline. As outlined above, the definition of ground disturbance in the Pipeline Safety Act already includes two exemptions. Other activities would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis, as the current and proposed regulations provide. If a person wishing to conduct the activity cannot obtain consent from the pipeline company, that person can apply to the Board for authorization, under both the current regulatory scheme and the proposed regulations.

Nine submissions requested permission to review the proposed regulations before their publication in the Canada Gazette. However, it was determined that interested persons would have an adequate opportunity to review the proposed regulations and to provide comments during the 30-day prepublication period in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

Over the last several years, and during this consultation period, stakeholders expressed strong support for the inclusion of the following in the proposed regulations: (1) the requirement for NEB-regulated companies to have a damage prevention program as part of their management system, (2) the requirement for mandatory membership of NEB-regulated pipeline companies in one-call centres covering areas where they operate their pipelines, (3) the requirement for all parties considering undertaking construction of facilities or activities around a pipeline to initiate locate requests through their local one-call centres, and (4) the inclusion of the requirements to be met by agricultural vehicles and mobile equipment to safely cross pipelines.

Rationale

Ground disturbance, construction and crossings in and around a pipeline (proposed amendments resulting from the Pipeline Safety Act)

The proposal would allow the NEB's damage prevention regulations to be aligned with legislation introduced through the Pipeline Safety Act amendments to the NEB Act. The Pipeline Safety Act enables modernization of NEB Act regulations for pipeline damage prevention, and brings them in line with more recent provincial damage prevention regulations. While the proposal largely maintains the existing conditions and measures required for anyone planning construction or activity near a pipeline, or crossing it with a vehicle or mobile equipment, it also provides clarity about the regulatory requirements for all involved to prevent damage to a pipeline and to maintain the safety of people and protection of the environment.

The proposed regulations set the prescribed area at 30 m measured perpendicularly from either side of the centre line of the pipe. This distance can be accurately measured and is a balanced approach to meet the needs of the pipeline companies and landowners and land users. The distance of 30 m on either side of the centre line of the pipe also aligns with more recent provincial legislation and regulation.

The proposed regulations replace a requirement to follow a minimum standard for ground-to-wire clearance when constructing an overhead line across a pipeline with a requirement to comply with applicable provincial and federal laws.

The proposed regulations require that pipeline companies intending to construct a facility or engage in an activity that would cause a ground disturbance in the prescribed area must make a locate request on its pipeline. This requirement is included in order to ensure current information about the pipeline is available prior to work starting, as circumstances may have changed since the last time the pipeline was mapped or located.

The proposed regulations require that the schedules of violations in the Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations (National Energy Board) be updated. The types of violations that will be listed will be similar to those outlined in the current regulations, recognizing that the provisions of the proposed regulations address ground disturbances in the prescribed area rather than excavations using power-operated equipment or explosives within 30 m of a pipeline.

Formalizing and consolidating damage prevention practices and requirements

The proposal includes formalizing and consolidating damage prevention practices and clarifies damage prevention requirements in order to promote continued prevention of damage to pipelines, as well as the safety of people and protection of the environment.

Damage prevention program

As an industry best practice, NEB-regulated companies already have their own damage prevention programs, or operate under the program of a parent company. The OPR contain damage prevention requirements, and already require companies to perform regular review and ongoing maintenance of programs associated with their management systems. Including the requirement for a damage prevention program and providing greater detail on the content of the program would formalize and standardize the regulatory requirement for a company's damage prevention program.

One-call centre membership

Company membership in one-call centres has been the industry best practice for several years. Over 90% of NEB-regulated pipelines in Canada are owned by companies that are members of one-call centres. It is estimated that 98% of NEB-regulated pipelines are registered with one-call centres; the remaining 2% are in areas where there is no one-call centre. Where no one-call centres exist, a person will still be required to contact the individual pipeline companies directly to initiate a locate request, as currently required in the regulations.

Requiring NEB-regulated companies to be members of a one-call centre where centres exist and where companies have buried pipe ensures ongoing coordination and greater certainty for all parties that need to be involved in the prevention of damage to pipelines and all buried infrastructure. Given that NEB-regulated pipelines are registered with one-call centres, where one-call centres exist, it is anticipated that the proposal would have no incremental cost for business.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

Under the NEB Act, the NEB enforces regulatory requirements to obtain compliance, deter future non-compliance, and prevent harm by using the most appropriate tools available. No change to compliance and enforcement authority or responsibilities would result from the proposal. The NEB has trained and qualified damage prevention inspectors and enforcement personnel, and existing regulatory oversight programs. The NEB will continue to perform regular inspections and audits.

The NEB uses a series of compliance and enforcement tools, including audits and inspections, compliance meetings, notices of non-compliance, orders and administrative monetary penalties to encourage compliance with regulations to minimize infractions related to safety and damage prevention. Each case is examined on an individual basis to determine the best course of enforcement to make sure damage prevention and safety requirements are followed. The updated Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations (National Energy Board) would be implemented where appropriate.

There are no new service standards in the proposed regulations. There are existing Board processes in place to support the implementation of the regulations, and NEB guidance will be updated to reflect the proposed regulations. Existing time requirements are carried over into the proposed regulations, including the 24-hour notice prior to backfilling. Further, the requirement for a pipeline company to reply within 10 days after receiving a person's request for information relevant to an application made to the Board for authorization to conduct an activity near a pipeline is maintained. As in the current regulations, if the pipeline company does not give its consent to a person wishing to conduct an activity near its pipeline, the person can apply to the Board for authorization.

All of the proposed regulations come into force on the first day on which section 15 and section 34 of the Pipeline Safety Act are in force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

Contact

Chantal Briand
Regulatory Approaches
National Energy Board
517 Tenth Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2R 0A8
Toll-free telephone: 1-800-899-1265
Fax: 403-299-5503
Toll-free fax: 1-877-288-8803
Email: damagepreventionregs@neb-one.gc.ca

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is given that the National Energy Board, pursuant to subsections 112(5) (see footnote a) and (5.1) (see footnote b) of the National Energy Board Act (see footnote c), proposes to make the annexed National Energy Board Pipeline Damage Prevention Regulations – Authorizations.

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Chantal Briand, Regulatory Approaches, National Energy Board, 517 Tenth Avenue SW Calgary, AB, T2R 0A8 (Toll free tel. in Canada: 1-800-899-1265; fax: 403-299-5503; Toll free fax in Canada: 1-877-288-8803; email: damagepreventionregs@neb-one.gc.ca).

Calgary, March 10, 2016

Sheri Young
Secretary of the National Energy Board

National Energy Board Pipeline Damage Prevention Regulations – Authorizations

Interpretation

Definitions

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act means the National Energy Board Act. (Loi)

facility means any structure, highway, private road, railway, irrigation ditch, drain, drainage system, sewer, dike, telephone line, telegraph line, telecommunication line, line for the transmission of electricity or pipe for the transmission of hydrocarbons or any other substance. (installation)

offshore area means the submarine areas adjacent to the coast of Canada. (zone extracôtière)

overhead line means a facility that is an above-ground telephone, telegraph, telecommunication or electric power line or any combination of those lines. (ligne aérienne)

pipe means a pipe that is part of a pipeline and that is used or is to be used for the transmission of hydrocarbons or any other commodity. (conduite)

working day means any day that is not a Saturday or a Sunday or other holiday. (jour ouvrable)

General Provisions

Prescribed area

2 For the purposes of subsection 112(1) of the Act, the prescribed area means a strip of land measured 30 m perpendicularly on each side from the centreline of a pipe.

Locate request

3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), any person that intends to construct a facility across, on, along or under a pipeline or engage in an activity that would cause a ground disturbance within a prescribed area must make a locate request in the following manner at least three working days before the day on which the construction or activity is to start:

Exception

(2) Any pipeline company that intends to construct a facility across, on, along or under its pipeline or engage in an activity that would cause a ground disturbance within a prescribed area must make a locate request to a one-call centre at least three working days before the day on which the construction or activity is to start if the intended construction or activity is within an area where a one-call centre exists.

Emergency

(3) In the case of an unexpected situation that could endanger life or cause substantial property or environmental damage that requires immediate action, the three-day period set out in subsections (1) and (2) does not apply and the locate request must be made as soon as possible before the construction or activity starts.

One-call centre

(4) A one-call centre is an organization that, for the purposes of protecting the underground infrastructures of its members from damage and ensuring public safety,

Duty to inform

4 Any person that intends to construct a facility across, on, along or under a pipeline, engage in an activity that would cause a ground disturbance within a prescribed area or operate a vehicle or mobile equipment across a pipeline must, before the construction, activity or operation is to start, inform all persons working on their behalf, including employees, contractors and subcontractors, of their obligations under these Regulations.

Designation of temporary prohibition area

5 If a pipeline company, after having received a locate request from a person that intends to engage in an activity that would cause a ground disturbance within a prescribed area, designates an area that is situated in the vicinity of a pipeline and that may extend beyond the prescribed area as a prohibition area, the ground disturbance is prohibited within the area during the period referred to in subsection 112(5.1) of the Act.

Authorization Under The Act

Pipeline company

6 For the purposes of subsection 112(1) and paragraph 112(2)(a) of the Act and despite sections 7 and 9 to 13 of these Regulations, the construction of a facility — in an area other than an offshore area — across, on, along or under a pipeline, an activity — in an area other than an offshore area — that would cause a ground disturbance within a prescribed area and the operation of a vehicle or mobile equipment across a pipeline is authorized if the pipeline company that intends to carry out the construction, activity or operation

Facility

Authorization – of construction

7 (1) For the purposes of subsection 112(1) of the Act, the construction of a facility — in an area other than an offshore area — across, on, along or under a pipeline, other than the construction of an overhead line referred to in section 9, is authorized if the person that intends to construct the facility

Suspension

(2) If the consent is suspended by the Board, or by the pipeline company in accordance with subsection 10(1) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Damage Prevention Regulations – Obligations of Pipeline Companies, the authorization is suspended and the construction must cease for the duration of the suspension of the consent.

Measures

(3) Any person that is undertaking the construction of a facility must comply with the following measures:

Obligations — existing facilities

8 The owner of a facility that is constructed — in an area other than an offshore area — across, on, along or under a pipeline must

Authorization for construction of overhead line

9 (1) For the purposes of subsection 112(1) of the Act, the construction of an overhead line across a pipeline — in an area other than an offshore area — is authorized if the person that intends to construct the overhead line

Measures

(2) Any person that is undertaking the construction of an overhead line across a pipeline must comply with the following measures:

Activity that Causes a Ground Disturbance

Authorization – ground disturbance activity

10 (1) For the purposes of subsection 112(1) of the Act, any activity — in an area other than an offshore area — that would cause a ground disturbance within the prescribed area, other than an activity referred to in section 11, is authorized if the person that intends to engage in the activity

Suspension

(2) If the consent is suspended by the Board, or by the pipeline company in accordance with subsection 10(1) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Damage Prevention Regulations – Obligations of Pipeline Companies, the authorization is suspended and the activity must cease for the duration of the suspension of the consent.

Measures

(3) Any person that is engaged in an activity that causes a ground disturbance within the prescribed area must comply with the following measures:

Authorization — activity required for maintenance of facility

11 For the purposes of subsection 112(1) of the Act, any maintenance of an existing facility — in an area other than an offshore area — that causes a ground disturbance within the prescribed area is authorized if the person engaged in the maintenance complies with paragraphs 10(1)(b) and (c) and the measures set out in paragraphs 10(3)(c) to (h).

Operation of Vehicles or Mobile Equipment Across a Pipeline

Authorization – operation across pipeline

12 Subject to section 13 and for the purposes of paragraph 112(2)(a) of the Act, the operation of a vehicle or mobile equipment across a pipeline is authorized if the person that intends to operate the vehicle or mobile equipment across the pipeline obtains the pipeline company's written consent.

Authorization — agricultural activity

13 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 112(2)(a) of the Act, the operation across the pipeline of a vehicle or mobile equipment that is used to perform an agricultural activity is authorized if the following conditions are met:

Definition of “agricultural activity”

(2) In this section, “agricultural activity” means the work of producing crops and raising livestock and includes tillage, plowing, disking, harrowing, pasturing, mushroom growing, nursery and sod operations, but does not include the construction of new buildings or impervious areas or the placement of footings, foundations, pilings or fence posts.

Application for Authorization

File application with Board

14 (1) A person that intends to construct a facility across, on, along or under a pipeline, engage in an activity that would cause a ground disturbance within the prescribed area of a pipeline or operate a vehicle or mobile equipment across a pipeline may file an application for authorization with the Board if

Service

(2) If a person files an application under subsection (1), that person must serve a copy of the application on the pipeline company that operates the pipeline in question.

Transitional Provisions

Construction or excavation

15 (1) Any leave granted by the Board prior to June 19, 2016 to construct a facility across, on, along or under a pipeline or to excavate using power-operated equipment or explosives within 30 m of a pipeline under subsection 112(1) of the Act, as it read immediately prior to that date, expires on the date set out in the leave, but if there is no date set out in the leave it expires two years after the day on which the leave was granted.

Crossing

(2) Any leave granted by the pipeline company prior to June 19, 2016 to operate a vehicle or mobile equipment across a pipeline under subsection 112(2) of the Act, as it read prior to that date, expires on the date set out in the leave granted by the pipeline company.

Construction or installation of facility

16 The construction or installation of a facility in respect of which a person has obtained written permission under paragraph 4(b) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I prior to June 19, 2016 is authorized under subsection 112(1) of the Act, as it reads on June 19, 2016, and the measures to be taken in relation to that construction or installation are those set out in paragraphs 4(a) to (m) of those Regulations as they read immediately before the day on which these Regulations come into force.

Excavation

17 An excavation in respect of which a person has obtained the pipeline company's written permission under paragraph 6(b) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I prior to June 19, 2016 is an authorized ground disturbance under subsection 112(1) of the Act, as it reads on June 19, 2016, and the measures to be taken in relation to the excavation are those set out in section 6 of those Regulations as it read immediately before the day on which these Regulations come into force.

Application Prior to Publication

Statutory Instruments Act

18 For the purposes of paragraph 11(2)(a) of the Statutory Instruments Act, these Regulations apply before they are published in the Canada Gazette.

Repeal

19 The National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I (see footnote 1) are repealed.

Coming into Force

S.C. 2015, c. 21

20 These Regulations come into force on the day on which section 34 of the Pipeline Safety Act comes into force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

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