Pipeline Licensee v. Contract Operator: Who is Liable for Environmental
Damage arising from Integrity Mismanagement and Corrosion?
In ISH Energy Ltd v Weber Contract Services Inc., 2019 ABQB 221, pipeline leaks were discovered at five locations in northern British Columbia that required significant clean up and extensive repair to the pipelines. The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench found the contract operator of the pipeline, who was responsible for the pipeline's maintenance, negligent and in breach of contract. The Court awarded significant damages of over $24 million against the contract operator. This decision is a cautionary reminder, to pipeline licensees, service companies and customers of the importance of an effective integrity management program and the environmental exposure that may result from inadequate implementation. Read the full article by by Chidinma Thompson and Brett Carlson with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. 

Environmental Concerns Could Dash Teck's
Hopes of Building Massive Oilsands Mine
Regulators have recommended the federal government approve Teck Resources Ltd.'s massive new oilsands mine that could help reverse a trend of declining investment in the heavy oil formation, though analysts have been skeptical new mining projects can ever be built in the play given emissions limits and stringent regulatory reviews. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the Alberta Energy Regulator announced late Thursday [July 25th] they were recommending Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna approve Frontier, a massive new oilsands mining project by the Vancouver-based miner, with the capacity to produce 85,000 barrels of oil per day by 2026, with future phases taking total output to 260,000 bpd by 2037. While the two agencies determined the project was in the public interest, they also withheld approvals for parts of the project on Big Creek, a waterway in the area, and made its approval contingent on 62 different conditions. Read the Vancouver Sun article. 

Elevating Devices Safety Regulation Revised
Effective July 22, the Elevating Devices Safety Regulation was amended, requiring contractors who perform maintenance to prepare a transition plan for submission to Technical Safety BC. This plan must be submitted in a form that is acceptable to the provincial safety manager. The plan must describe how each contractor will bring all of the units upon which they perform maintenance into compliance with the Maintenance Control Program. A complete and acceptable plan must be submitted to the provincial safety manager no later than April 30, 2020.