CANADIAN PIPELINE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
Terms of Reference
March 2008

The Canadian Pipeline Environment Committee consists of industry and government representatives with an interest in sound environmental management of pipelines in Canada.

VISION STATEMENT

To promote the concept of sound environmental management in the construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of pipelines.

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide leadership and guidance in the development of enhanced environmental management procedures and practices for pipelines.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The Committee believes that pipelines can be constructed, operated and abandoned in a safe and environmentally responsible manner which ensures that protection and ongoing stewardship of the environment.

The Committee believes that both the pipeline industry and government have a joint and shared responsibility to protect Canada’s environment during pipeline planning, design, construction, operation and abandonment.

The Committee will encourage the timely and open sharing of environmental information.

The Committee will promote common understanding on current and emerging pipeline issues.

The Committee will support and promote practical research to further enhance environmental protection for pipelines

1.

BACKGROUND

Canada has approximately 45,000 km of operating National Energy Board regulated pipelines.  Pipeline companies and government agencies are seeing environmental issues contributing to lengthy review proceedings and hearings, a tendency toward adversarial approaches and a heightened awareness of the need to incorporate sustainable development considerations in pipeline activities.  Currently a multi-stakeholder forum to address pipeline environmental issues does not exist on a national scale.  Industry and government are seeking a forum to improve environmental management of practices, procedures and processes for the construction, operation and abandonment of pipelines

The concept of a national committee to address pipeline environmental issues in a co-operative manner is a product of the success seen in the Alberta model of the Alberta Pipeline Environmental Steering Committee.  The Alberta committee is comprised of representatives from industry, federal, provincial and local government, and landowners.  A co-operative approach by committee membership has resulted in broad agreement on issues identification and subsequent mutual resolution.

2.

PURPOSES OF COMMITTEE

To assist government, industry and other interest groups in their pursuit of environmental protection and economical pipeline planning, construction, operation, abandonment and for pipelines regulated by the National Energy Board;

To act as a vehicle for government to receive input from industry and other interest groups on environmental regulatory initiatives

To identify, prioritize and make recommendations for workable solutions on pipeline environmental issues;

To increase consistency across review agencies;

To help implement recommendations of the Committee;

To advance knowledge of best practices through workshop, training and communications;

To improve efficiency of the review process for projects.

3.

STRUCTURE

3.1

CHAIRMANSHIP AND FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS

One industry representative and one government representative will be appointed, for not less than one year, as co-chairs; each will chair alternate meetings.  Meetings will be held at least quarterly (more frequently based on need).

An annual meeting will be held as the first meeting of each calendar year to review chairmanship, membership, future direction, and progress of the committee and its associated activities.  An annual report will be prepared by the co-chairs and circulated to the appropriate senior industry and government officials.

3.2

MEMBERSHIP

Where appropriate representation will be included from other industry, environmental or aboriginal associations or government agencies on selected issues reviewed at task force, Committee or annual meetings.

3.3

TASK FORCES

Task Forces may be established as required by the Committee to address specific issues.  A Committee member will be assigned to be chair of each Task Force.  The Task Force will have a well defined task and will be disbanded when the task is completed.

4.

PROCESS

4.1

ISSUE IDENTIFICATION

An issue may be raised at any time by a Committee member. The issues list will be reviewed and prioritized annually.

4.2

PRIORITY SETTING AND TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Committee will assign the lead for an Issue to a Committee member.  The Committee member will develop, for approval by the Committee, an Issue Brief  for the issue.  The issue may be addressed by the Committee or a Task Force assigned to the issue.

4.3

FUNDING

For planning purposes, the Committee will review the Issues Log to determine annual funding requirements.  This will enable Committee members to include these estimates in their annual budgets.  Committee members may also identify funding requirements for specific issues as they arise.

Once an issue has been identified, a written request for funding may be included in the Issues Brief and forwarded to the Committee.  The request will specify the reason for the expenditures, what will be accomplished, the activities planned, and their costs.

The Committee will review the request for funding.  If it is approved, members of the Committee will seek funding support for the appropriate amount from their respective organizations.  It is anticipated that Task Force and research costs will be shared by Committee members.

4.4

TASK FORCES

The Committee will identify the Task Force Chair and Task Force members.  The Task Force will allocate duties and conduct its activities according to the Terms of Reference and the Committee's Guiding Principles and Purposes.  The Task Force will also ensure that the work is conducted within the budget allocated by the Committee.

The Committee will develop clear, written expectations of the Task Force, including the scope of the work, the nature of the recommendations expected, and the timelines for completion of the work.

The Task Force will develop written recommendations and the Chair will submit them to the Committee for review and approval.

The Committee may accept the recommendations of the Task Force, reject the recommendation, or accept a portion of the recommendations.  If the recommendations are rejected or not accepted in their entirety, the Committee will inform the Task Force of the reasons.

Task Force progress reports will be given by the Chair of the Task Force at each Committee meeting.  The Committee may give general directions to the Task Force and ask for written reports.

4.5

DECISION MAKING

The objective is to reach consensus agreement between Committee members when the Committee is establishing recommendations. Consensus has 3 key points:

• all members feel they've been heard;
• all members can live with the decision; and
• all members will support the decision to proceed but it does not necessarily mean that they had no concerns.

Where consensus is not possible, the Committee may agree to elevate the issue to another appropriate body for further direction. If the issue is a regulatory matter, it may be referred to the government agency for their action, as appropriate.

4.6

IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Prior to taking action, each Committee member will be given the opportunity to obtain support from their respective organization.  Committee recommendations will be communicated through the use of appropriate means, to interested parties.  Policy recommendations will be presented to the appropriate regulatory bodies.

4.7

LINKS TO OTHER COMMITTEES

The Committee will work with other committees to:

• ensure effective use of resources;
• advance knowledge of pipeline environmental best practices, and;
• share and communicate information.