NEB-regulated pipeline companies in Canada will be required to develop and incorporate Damage Prevention Programs into their existing management systems. The long-awaited National Energy Board Damage Prevention Regulations (DPRs) are coming and once they are promulgated and the existing Pipeline Crossing Regulations repealed, these new Programs will be mandatory.

The DPRs apply to ALL pipeline companies in Canada with facilities that cross provincial and national borders - regardless of their size, throughput, etc. If a pipeline carrying hydrocarbons crosses a provincial border, it is regulated by the NEB and the operating company must comply with the NEB Act and its Regulations made.

Designing a Damage Prevention Program tailored to an individual company’s specific operations can be challenging. HMA representatives Mike Sullivan and Mark Bradley have been directly involved in the ongoing development and evolution of the NEB’s Damage Prevention Regulations since the beginning and both were Chair and Vice Chair of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association’s Damage Prevention Working Group. As a result, they are keenly aware of what the NEB is looking for and how to stitch those requirements into existing company management systems, programs and procedures.

If your company requires assistance designing, developing or implementing its Damage Prevention Program, please contact us.