Alberta has the best regulatory framework of all Canadian provinces when it comes to pipeline safety and the oil and gas industry as a whole, a new independent review found.
Alberta's leading position is hardly surprising, considering the fact that it is the center of the country's oil and gas industry. The review rated highly the province's thorough practices in reporting spills and gathering data relating to incidents. All pipeline failures in Alberta are reported in detail, revealing an average of two crude oils spills per day, according to an earlier report by Global News.
The independent review by Group 10 Engineering concluded that Alberta had established a leading position in following good practices to manage the industry appropriately, ensuring the province's health and safety were taken care of. It also stated that all of the examined jurisdictions complied with pipeline requirements established by the Canadian Standards Association, but there was no universal approach on how to ensure pipeline safety.
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Synchronizing regulation and reporting requirements would benefit the industry, the review pointed out. Group 10 Engineering found numerous inconsistencies across federal and provincial regulation, especially in definitions of certain concepts. For example, various jurisdictions have completely different definitions of what a "body of water" is, making it difficult for companies to devise mitigating plans, the report said.
