Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review
The release last month of the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review was meant to be a symbol of the province’s renewed commitment to environmental responsibility as it aims for new export markets. The report’s authors, Group 10 Engineering, submitted 17 recommendations covering public safety and pipeline i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Calgary
2013-10-01
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| Series: | The School of Public Policy Publications |
| Online Access: | https://dev.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/42442 |
| _version_ | 1827877118079401984 |
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| author | Jennifer Winter |
| author_facet | Jennifer Winter |
| author_sort | Jennifer Winter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The release last month of the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review was meant to be a symbol of the province’s renewed commitment to environmental responsibility as it aims for new export markets. The report’s authors, Group 10 Engineering, submitted 17 recommendations covering public safety and pipeline incidents, pipeline integrity management and pipeline safety near bodies of water — and many of them run the gamut from the obvious to the unhelpful to the contradictory. That the energy regulator ought to be staffed to do its job should go without saying; in fact, staffing levels were never identified as an issue. The recommendation that record retention and transfer requirements be defined for mergers and acquisitions, sales and takeovers is moot. There is no reason a purchasing party would not want all relevant documents, and no real way to enforce transparency if the seller opts to withhold information. Harmonizing regulations between provinces could reduce companies’ cost of doing business, but could also prove challenging if different jurisdictions use performance-based regulations — which is what the Review recommended Alberta consider. This very brief paper pries apart the Review’s flaws and recommends that the province go back to the drawing board. Safety is a serious issue; a genuine statistical review linking pipeline characteristics to failures and risk-mitigation activities would be a better alternative by far. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:33:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3c8bcb934544489b7bd681527e5f797 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2560-8312 2560-8320 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:33:04Z |
| publishDate | 2013-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Calgary |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The School of Public Policy Publications |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3c8bcb934544489b7bd681527e5f7972023-08-04T15:52:54ZengUniversity of CalgaryThe School of Public Policy Publications2560-83122560-83202013-10-016Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety ReviewJennifer Winter0University of CalgaryThe release last month of the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review was meant to be a symbol of the province’s renewed commitment to environmental responsibility as it aims for new export markets. The report’s authors, Group 10 Engineering, submitted 17 recommendations covering public safety and pipeline incidents, pipeline integrity management and pipeline safety near bodies of water — and many of them run the gamut from the obvious to the unhelpful to the contradictory. That the energy regulator ought to be staffed to do its job should go without saying; in fact, staffing levels were never identified as an issue. The recommendation that record retention and transfer requirements be defined for mergers and acquisitions, sales and takeovers is moot. There is no reason a purchasing party would not want all relevant documents, and no real way to enforce transparency if the seller opts to withhold information. Harmonizing regulations between provinces could reduce companies’ cost of doing business, but could also prove challenging if different jurisdictions use performance-based regulations — which is what the Review recommended Alberta consider. This very brief paper pries apart the Review’s flaws and recommends that the province go back to the drawing board. Safety is a serious issue; a genuine statistical review linking pipeline characteristics to failures and risk-mitigation activities would be a better alternative by far.https://dev.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/42442 |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer Winter Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review The School of Public Policy Publications |
| title | Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review |
| title_full | Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review |
| title_fullStr | Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review |
| title_short | Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review |
| title_sort | grasping at straws comments on the alberta pipeline safety review |
| url | https://dev.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/42442 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jenniferwinter graspingatstrawscommentsonthealbertapipelinesafetyreview |