Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part I.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the National Energy Board Act; (Loi)

emergency

emergency means an unexpected situation that could endanger life or cause substantial property or environmental damage and that requires immediate action; (urgence)

excavation

excavation[Revoked, SOR/93-239, s. 2]

excavator

excavator means the person who performs an excavation and includes the corporation or other legal entity and every agent, affiliate and subcontractor of the corporation or other legal entity that has direct control over the person performing the excavation; (exécutant de travaux d’excavation)

facility

facility means

• (a) any structure that is constructed or placed on the right-of-way of a pipeline, and

• (b) any highway, private road, railway, irrigation ditch, drain, drainage system, sewer, dike, telegraph, telephone line or line for the transmission of hydrocarbons, power or any other substance that is or is to be carried across, along, upon or under any pipeline; (installation)

facility owner

facility owner means a person, firm, public agency, corporation, or any combination thereof, that owns a facility or that undertakes or has control over one or more of the activities related to construction, installation, operation, maintenance or removal of a facility; (propriétaire d’installation)

leave

leave means the leave of the Board referred to in subsection 112(1) of the Act; (autorisation)

offshore area

offshore area means the submarine areas adjacent to the coast of Canada; (endroit au large des côtes)

overhead line

overhead line means an above-ground telephone, telegraph, telecommunication or electric power line or any combination thereof; (ligne aérienne)

permission

permission means the consent given by a pipeline company to a facility owner or excavator to construct or install a facility or to excavate; (permission)

pipe

pipe means the pipe and all related appurtenances that belong to a pipeline company and that are used in the transmission of hydrocarbons through a pipeline; (conduite)

restricted area

restricted area means an area designated under section 9. (zone interdite)

Application

3 These Regulations do not apply to an excavation caused by

• (a) a pipeline company or its agents; or

• (b) activities, other than the construction or installation of a facility, that disturb less than three tenths of a metre of ground below the initial grade and do not reduce the total cover over the pipe.

Conditions and Circumstances Under Which Leave of the Board Is Not Required

4 Leave of the Board is not required for any construction or installation of a facility, other than the installation of an overhead line referred to in section 5, if

• (a) the construction or installation of the facility takes place in an area other than an offshore area;

• (b) the facility owner obtains written permission from the pipeline company prior to the construction or installation of the facility and accepts any conditions set out in the permission;

• (c) the facility owner ensures that the work is carried out in accordance with the technical details that are set out in its request for permission that have been accepted by the pipeline company;

• (d) the facility owner ensures that the work is completed within two years after the date the permission referred to in paragraph (b) is granted or within a period otherwise agreed on by the pipeline company and the facility owner;

• (e) where permission is suspended by the pipeline company or the Board in accordance with subsection 14(1) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part II, the facility owner ceases work;

• (f) unless otherwise agreed on by the pipeline company and the facility owner and, except in cases of emergency, three working days’ notice is given by the facility owner to the pipeline company prior to commencement of construction or installation of the facility;

• (g) in the case of an emergency, as much prior notice as is practicable is given by the facility owner to the pipeline company prior to commencement of construction or installation of the facility;

• (h) the facility owner undertakes and complies with all practices stipulated by the pipeline company to the facility owner to lessen any detrimental effect that the facility may have on a pipe;

• (i) prior to the construction or installation of the facility, the facility owner

  • (i) confirms with the pipeline company that all the pipeline company’s pipes in the vicinity have been staked, and

  • (ii) ensures that the pipeline company has explained, to the satisfaction of the facility owner, the significance of the stakes that identify the location of the pipeline company’s pipes;

• (j) the facility owner complies with the instructions of an authorized field representative of the pipeline company regarding the procedures to be followed while working in the vicinity of a pipe;

• (k) where interference with or alteration of a pipe is necessary, the facility owner obtains prior written consent of the pipeline company;

• (l) where the facility owner receives the consent referred to in paragraph (k), the work is carried out under the supervision of the pipeline company;

• (m) the facility owner immediately notifies the pipeline company of any contact with a pipeline company’s pipe or its coating;

• (n) the facility owner maintains the facility in a state of good repair compatible with the safety of the pipeline and immediately corrects any deterioration in the facility on being informed in writing by the pipeline company pursuant to subsection 15(1) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part II, except where, unless otherwise ordered by the Board,

  • (i) the facility owner provides the pipeline company with a written undertaking executed by a third party whereby the third party agrees to assume the responsibility for maintaining the facility, or

  • (ii) the facility has been removed or abandoned and the site restored to the satisfaction of the pipeline company;

• (o) the facility owner notifies the pipeline company, in writing, of the proposed abandonment or removal of any facility affecting a pipe or right-of-way of the pipeline; and

• (p) the facility owner removes or alters any facility that could impede the safe and efficient operation of the pipeline, or that the Board considers should be removed or altered for the protection of property and the environment and the safety of the public and the pipeline company’s employees.

5 Leave of the Board is not required for the installation of an overhead line across a pipeline if

• (a) unless otherwise agreed on by the pipeline company and the facility owner and, except in cases of emergency, three working days’ notice is given by the facility owner to the pipeline company prior to commencement of installation;

• (b) in the case of an emergency, as much prior notice as is practicable is given by the facility owner to the pipeline company prior to commencement of installation;

• (c) the overhead line is installed in accordance with the minimum ground-to-wire clearance established by the Canadian Standards Association Standard CAN/CSA-C22.3 No. 1-M87, Overhead Systems, the English version of which is dated April 1987 and the French version of which is dated December 1989;

• (d) where the pipeline is patrolled by aircraft, aerial warning devices are installed and properly maintained by the facility owner at the request of the pipeline company; and

• (e) no poles, pylons, towers, guys, anchors or supporting structures of any kind are constructed or placed on the right-of-way of the pipeline or within its projected limits.

6 Leave of the Board is not required for an excavation, other than an excavation referred to in section 7, if

• (a) the excavation takes place in an area other than an offshore area;

• (b) the excavator obtains written permission from the pipeline company prior to the excavation and accepts any conditions set out in the permission;

• (c) the excavator ensures that the work is carried out in accordance with the technical details that are set out in its request for permission and that have been accepted by the pipeline company;

• (d) the excavator ensures that the work is completed within two years after the date the permission referred to in paragraph (b) is granted or within a period otherwise agreed on by the pipeline company and the excavator;

• (e) where permission is suspended by the pipeline company in accordance with subsection 14(1) of the National Energy Board Pipeline Crossing Regulations, Part II, the excavator ceases work;

• (f) unless otherwise agreed on by the pipeline company and the excavator and, except in cases of emergency, three working days’ notice is given by the excavator to the pipeline company prior to commencement of the excavation;

• (g) in the case of an emergency, as much prior notice as is practicable is given by the excavator to the pipeline company prior to commencement of the excavation;

• (h) prior to commencement of the excavation, the excavator

  • (i) confirms with the pipeline company that all the pipeline company’s pipes in the vicinity have been staked, and

  • (ii) ensures that the pipeline company explains, to the satisfaction of the excavator, the significance of the stakes that identify the location of the pipeline company’s pipes;

• (i) the excavator does not excavate mechanically within a restricted area;

• (j) the excavator does not excavate mechanically within three metres of a pipe unless

  • (i) the pipe has been exposed by hand at the point of crossing or, where the excavation runs parallel to the pipe, at sufficient intervals to confirm the location of the pipe,

  • (ii) where the excavation crosses a pipe, the pipeline company has informed the excavator that it has confirmed the location of the pipe by probing, and the pipe is at least six tenths of a metre deeper than the proposed excavation,

  • (iii) where the excavation runs parallel to the pipe, the pipeline company has informed the excavator that it has confirmed the location of the pipe by probing, or

  • (iv) where ground conditions render exposure of the pipe by hand impractical, the pipeline company has agreed that the excavation may be performed safely to within one metre of the pipe, and the pipeline company directly supervises the excavation;

• (k) when boring directionally or using explosives, unless otherwise authorized by the Board, the excavator complies with the conditions imposed by the pipeline company respecting directional boring or the use of explosives;

• (l) the excavator complies with the instructions of an authorized field representative of the pipeline company regarding the procedures to be followed while working in the vicinity of a pipe;

• (m) where interference with or alteration of a pipe is necessary, the excavator obtains prior written consent of the pipeline company;

• (n) where the excavator receives the consent referred to in paragraph (m), the work is carried out under the supervision of the pipeline company;

• (o) the excavator immediately notifies the pipeline company of any contact with the pipeline company’s pipe or its coating; and

• (p) unless otherwise agreed on by the pipeline company and the excavator, the excavator notifies the pipeline company at least 24 hours prior to backfilling over the pipe.

7 Leave of the Board is not required for an excavation required for the maintenance of an existing facility if the circumstances and conditions set out in paragraphs 6(f) to (p) are met.

8 Where leave of the Board is required, the facility owner or excavator shall file an application for leave with the Board and serve a copy of the application for leave on the pipeline company.

9 When a pipeline company receives a request from a facility owner or an excavator to locate its pipes, the pipeline company may designate an area situated in the vicinity of the proposed facility or excavation, which may extend beyond 30 m from the pipeline, as a restricted area in which no excavation may be performed until the pipes are located and marked by the pipeline company or the expiry of three working days after the date of the request, whichever occurs first, unless the pipeline company and the facility owner or excavator have agreed on an extension of time for the pipeline company to locate and mark the pipes.