Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Assessing the risks related to the project
The security measures planned for the pipeline
The safety measures planned for this project would be taken into account for the design,
construction and operation of the pipeline with the aim to prevent, detect and control any
event which could occur in relation to the pipeline and to mitigate its consequences, if
required. These measures would be based on risk analysis, and would especially take
into consideration the most likely cause of accidents, i.e. the accidental breakage of the
line caused by excavation work. Some of these measures are:
– The line would be placed in a 23-m right-of-way that would meet the NEB’s
standards to border or cross the electric right-of-way.
– All work performed less than 30 m from the right-of-way would have to be
declared.
– Block valves would be placed at both ends, as well as in the middle of the
pipeline, for emergency shutdowns.
– Additional security measures would be implemented in the site’s slump areas.
To that effect, the ministère de la Sécurité publique specified that it would continue its
review to assess the need for additional pipeline security measures. However, in its
opinion, barring exceptional circumstances, the guarantees provided by the proponent
were satisfactory, said guarantees specifying compliance with Canadian standards,
participation in the Comité mixte municipal-industries (CMMI), and the possible
compliance of the emergency measures plan with the MDDEP’s guidelines. Moreover,
the MDDEP specified that the CSA-Z662-03 1 standard does not make any provision
for exclusion zones:
[… ] depending on the proximity of some buildings, the use of various classes of
pipes, or the deeper burial of the pipeline in the ground. This has an effect of
decreasing the probability or frequency of occurrence of a major accident, without
necessarily changing the consequences of such an accident. Implementing a 23m
right-of-way for a pipeline also aims to decrease the probability that a major
accident will occur, by protecting it from an accidental rupture. In spite of the
measures which could decrease the frequency of accidents, keeping residences
away from the pipeline route remains an essential criterion to consider when
selecting the pipeline route.
(DQ61.1, p. 2)
The ministry is slated to examine the situation of the closest buildings in order to
assess the opportunity of planning special mitigation measures for them.
1. Canadian Standards Association (2005). Z662-03, Oil and Gas Systems, 439 p.
154 Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure