National Energy Board to Consult Public on Pipeline Emergency Response Plans Following Kinder Morgan Secrecy Scandal

Secrecy surrounding pipeline emergency response plans will soon be the subject of public consultation conducted by the National Energy Board (NEB), according to the board’s CEO Peter Watson.

As the CBC reports, speaking to a group of business leaders in Vancouver on Monday, Watson said, “Canadians deserve to be consulted on the transparency of emergency management information for NEB-regulated pipelines.”

Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan recently made headlines for refusing to disclose emergency response plans for its TransMountain pipeline expansion project, which would nearly triple the capacity of the existing line. Kinder Morgan refused to release an unredacted version of the emergency plan despite repeated requests from the province of B.C.

As DeSmog Canada first reported, the same emergency response plans were released in full to the public in the U.S. for portions of the pipeline that extend down into Washington State.

Redacted from the B.C. plans were contact details for company officials and first responders, information regarding spill response measures and cleanup equipment as well as spill response timelines for each unique segment of the pipeline.

Kinder Morgan argued disclosing the documents in B.C. triggered "security concerns." The NEB ruled the company was within its right to keep the information secret, leading some to question the legitimacy of the federal pipeline review process.

Now, Watson said the NEB wants to rethink the disclosure issue.

"There may indeed be some specific information that should be kept confidential,” he said, “but I believe that we have been too conservative in our approach to this issue to date."

"And to tell you the truth," he added, "I haven't been happy with the amount of emergency response information that pipeline companies or the NEB has been sharing with the public."

Watson said the recent bunker fuel spill in Vancouver’s English Bay put a spotlight on spill response capacities.

"I do not believe we have a choice on this matter," he said. "We need to help ensure that everybody involved in an emergency response for a leak in an existing pipeline knows what their role is — and how to deliver on that role, when something serious happens."

The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) recently announced its would form a new task force to address public concern over disclosure rules.

“A number of our members have faced significant public pressure to disclose all information contained in emergency response plans,” Jim Donihee, chief operating officer with CEPA, said.

“The CEPA task force will work to support that by establishing clear principles and guidelines that seek to find the right balance between the public’s right to know, the privacy of personal information and the security considerations also required for public safety.”

Image Credit: NEB