Day: June 6, 2017

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s provincial auditor says the government isn’t doing enough to effectively regulate oil and gas pipelines.

Judy Ferguson says in her annual report that as of the end of March, the Ministry of the Economy did not have written policies and procedures to evaluate existing pipeline operations.

“Effective pipeline regulation helps to prevent leaks, explosions and other hazards,” Ferguson said Tuesday.

She also says the ministry hasn’t developed a risk-based assessment to monitor pipeline construction or the integrity and safety of existing lines.

Ferguson notes that the government is inspecting pipelines that cross water in the wake of an oil spill on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River last July that jeopardized the drinking water of thousands of people.

“Those inspections were done as a result of the spill for Husky and we think that’s appropriate that they did do that,” she said.

“But they need a longer term approach to doing that as opposed to just an ad hoc look.”

A Husky Energy pipeline leak spilled 225,000 litres of heavy oil mixed with diluent onto the bank of the river near Maidstone.

About 40 per cent reached the river, where the plume flowed hundreds of kilometres downstream and forced the cities of North Battleford, Prince Albert and Melfort to shut their intakes from the river and find other water sources for almost two months.

There are about 2,200 licensed pipelines in Saskatchewan and approximately 80 operators. The companies are supposed to submit forms to show that they’re following operation standards.

The government plans to use the information to help monitor pipelines.

But Ferguson says the government is focusing on updating its licensing records and issuing amendments to pipeline licences, as opposed to using the information to monitor pipelines.

“They haven’t turned their mind to even assessing the results that are in the compliance reports that they have received and to come up with a strategy as to how they’re going to make sure that the pipelines in fact are safe,” she said.

Ferguson says the two largest operators — who account for about half of all pipelines in the province — have not completed all their forms.

Doug MacKnight, the assistant deputy minister of the economy, says companies are working hard to complete the forms.

“It’s just taking a lot longer than we had expected because of the complexity of the work,” said MacKnight.

MacKnight says the government is making strides when it comes to pipeline inspections and regulations by auditing pipeline operators to make sure that they’re following safe standards.

“So that’s actually looking at the way the companies operate to make sure that they are inspecting their lines regularly, they have good integrity management programs, they have good governance of their systems,” he said.

“And that really is the trend all regulators are pursuing.”

But Keith Stewart with Greenpeace Canada says he’s concerned that the government hasn’t acted faster given that the auditor made the recommendations five years ago.

“This is people’s drinking water we’re talking about. It’s crucial for wildlife. And Saskatchewan basically has one of the weakest or at least more disorganized pipeline safety regimes in the country,” said Stewart.

Stewart also noted that the auditor’s report says Saskatchewan doesn’t have targets or a mitigation plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report says: “Without plans, policies and targets, Saskatchewan may not be able to fulfil its commitment to Canada to contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions.”

Stewart says that doesn’t help Saskatchewan residents.

“For that you actually have to get with the program and be part of the global climate solution,” he said.

Saskatchewan Environment Minister Scott Moe says the province has signed onto the Vancouver Declaration, a national agreement to reduce Canada’s emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

However, the auditor notes that the agreement does not hold Saskatchewan to the same target.

Moe says the province is working on reducing emissions, but he wouldn’t talk about a specific target.

“That’s work that’s going on right now with respect to what our targets will be here in the province of Saskatchewan,” he said.

 

Jennifer Graham, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government has thrown its weight behind an Opposition motion backing Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, even as political turmoil in British Columbia threatens the project’s future.

The motion, introduced in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Mark Strahl, affirms that the project has social licence to proceed, is critical to the economy, is environmentally sound and should proceed as planned.

It passed Tuesday by a vote of 252-51, with the backing of the Conservatives and all Liberal MPs, except two B.C. backbenchers who have criticized the project in the past. Terry Beech and Hedy Fry both voted against the project. Neither were available to speak about their vote Tuesday.

B.C. MP Joyce Murray, who has also publicly opposed the project, was absent for the vote.

The NDP and Green party Leader Elizabeth May opposed the motion, in line with their provincial counterparts in British Columbia who last weekend signed a co-operation agreement which included plans to jointly oppose the pipeline.

While Liberal Premier Christy Clark won the most seats in the B.C. election last month, together the NDP and Greens have one more seat than the Liberals and could topple them in a confidence vote before the end of the month.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last fall approved the project to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C. Clark came to support it in January after five conditions she placed on it had been met.

Clark’s support for the pipeline likely cost her seats in the election, where the pipeline was a big issue for voters.

The pipeline falls under federal jurisdiction, but the province could at least delay its construction by withdrawing environmental approval or refusing construction permits, forcing Ottawa to go to court.

In speaking to his motion June 1, Strahl said he thinks Trudeau needs to travel to B.C. to defend the pipeline in front of its skeptics.

“It is easy to give a speech about approving a pipeline in Calgary to oil executives there,” Strahl said. “It is tougher to come to a skeptical audience in British Columbia and sell the merits of the pipeline. That is what we are calling on him to do. We are calling on the prime minister to come to British Columbia.”

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr last week said the government would support Strahl’s motion motion because the project remains a sound one with licence to proceed even if the idea of aligning with the Conservatives is “a source of discomfort.”

Carr said no matter what happens with the British Columbia government, it doesn’t change the facts about the project. He added his government was able to get the social licence to move forward by consulting widely, including with indigenous communities, and listening to concerns.

“While the government in B.C. may change, the facts, the science, the evidence, the environmental considerations, the economic benefits, and the jobs all remain unchanged,” he said.

Kinder Morgan is in the midst of responding to all 157 conditions placed on the pipeline’s construction by the National Energy Board. Some hope construction could begin as early as this fall, but the election turmoil could easily throw a wrench in that plan.

-follow @mrabson on Twitter.

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

REGINA — Saskatchewan auditor Judy Ferguson has released the first volume of her 2017 report. Here is a look at some of the points she made:

Climate change: As of January 2017, Saskatchewan did not have a provincial target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The auditor says without plans, policies and targets, Saskatchewan may not be able to fulfil its commitment to Canada to help reduce emissions.

Doctor payments: As of March 2017, the Ministry of Health suspected 15 physicians of questionable billing practices, but a review committee can only investigate about nine doctors each year. In 2016-2017, physicians were ordered to repay $1.2 million for inappropriate billings. In 2015-2016, there were 78 doctors whose billings were more than double the average for services and the amount they were paid was $64.1 million.

MRI scans: The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region did not meet its demand for all MRI scans in the 2016 calendar year and patients waited longer than suggested guidelines. At the end of December, there were 2,610 patients waiting for an MRI — an increase of 98 from the end of March 2016.

Special-care homes: The auditor says the Saskatoon Regional Health Authority needs to do more to oversee 20 private special-care homes to know whether they’re following minimum care standards and operating procedures.

Road risks: The auditor says the Ministry of Highways isn’t effectively enforcing vehicle weight and size on highways, which can cause damage and risks public safety. Overweight or over-dimension vehicles obstruct views, are more likely to tip over and need more time to stop.

Graduation rates: The auditor’s report says 84.5 per cent of non-indigenous students graduated high school within three years of starting Grade 10, while 41.8 per cent of First Nation and Metis students graduated. However, in the Living Sky School Division, which includes North Battleford, only 32 per cent of indigenous students graduated last year.

The Canadian Press

REGINA — About 250 property owners along a lake northwest of Regina are losing natural gas service due to continued ground movement and the risk of explosion.

SaskEnergy says that makes it unsafe, so as of Sept. 5, it will no longer provide natural gas to properties in six communities along Last Mountain Lake.

In December 2014, one home was destroyed and several others were damaged in Regina Beach when shifting ground caused a natural gas leak and explosion.

Spokesman Dave Burdeniuk says there is still too much ground movement to continue to provide gas safely to those areas.

The shutdown will affect 87 properties at Saskatchewan Beach, 76 in Regina Beach, 62 at Buena Vista, 12 at Craven, six at Shore Acres and four at Sundale.

SaskEnergy says underground leaks on its system in the affected zones have been repaired at rates up to 100 times the provincial average.

“It may not be that you see movement on your property or at your house, you may not see cracks or things moving. But deep underground where our gas lines are we’re seeing movement damaging our gas lines and our ability to get gas safely to areas at the surface,” Burdeniuk said Tuesday.

The 250 property owners represent about 16 per cent of SaskEnergy’s customer base in the area. Eighty per cent of property owners in the six communities are not affected.

Since the explosion in 2014, SaskEnergy has done a lot of work to try to prevent a similar incident. It installed more flexible components and has been using a satellite-monitoring service that sweeps over the area to identify more than 8,000 points on the gas line. It did remove gas service from 24 homes in Regina Beach after the explosion.

(CKRM, CJME)

The Canadian Press

CALGARY — Royal Dutch Shell will forge ahead with its energy development plans in British Columbia regardless of the uncertainty swirling around the province’s political future, says the company’s Canadian country chair.

Energy investments in B.C. have been cast into doubt after the May 9 provincial election that saw the Liberals win 43 seats and the NDP take 41— a situation that gives the Green party the balance of power with their three seats.

Last week, the NDP and Greens formalized an alliance that could see them oust the Liberals from power. But Michael Crothers, president of Shell Canada, said that shouldn’t deter the company’s plans for a liquefied natural gas export project in Kitimat, B.C., because NDP Leader John Horgan has backed that project.

“We’re optimistic we’ll get support if we choose to proceed,” Crothers said in an interview Tuesday.

Horgan has said he supports the project. But Green Leader Andrew Weaver has expressed opposition to LNG development.

Crothers said after the sale of Shell’s oilsands assets to Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) closed last week, the company will also now concentrate on its shale oil and gas properties in B.C. and Alberta, along with its refining and chemical businesses near Edmonton.

Shell and its partners in LNG Canada — PetroChina, Korea Gas and Mitsubishi — announced last summer a final investment decision for the Kitimat facility would be delayed because of poor global markets.

But Crothers said Tuesday the market appears to be improving as China and India move away from burning coal. He said there’s still no timeline for an investment decision, though four engineering firms have been asked to bid on contracts to design and construct the facility.

Shell intends to maintain production in the northeastern B.C. Montney region while planning to quickly ramp up production once a final investment decision is reached on the Kitimat project, he added.

Crothers also said that Shell Canada’s capital budget is expected to fall from $2 billion last year to about $1.5 billion this year after the Canadian Natural Resources sale.

 

Follow @HealingSlowly on Twitter.

Dan Healing, The Canadian Press