On November 28th the Government of Saskatchewan introduced The Pipelines Amendment Act, 2017 in the Legislature. The new legislation replaces The Pipelines Act, 1998.

The changes are being made in large part to address the concerns of the Provincial Auditor, especially those related to the lack of licensing of flow lines in Saskatchewan.

“Our efforts to enhance and reinforce our regulatory oversight of the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan are a continual process to ensure that it is held to the highest standards,” Energy and Resources Minister Dustin Duncan said. “This updated legislation also serves to address the Provincial Auditor’s previous recommendations with respect to our work with this industry.”

Saskatchewan has over 80,000 flow-lines in the province which are regulated but not licensed. This was just one of the gaps that were identified in the Provincial Auditor's report on the manner.

Some of the components new legislation brought in to fill these gaps include:

- Creation of a legal framework for phased-in licensing of more than 80,000 flow-lines which are exempt in current licensing under the Act;
- Building an online pipeline licensing system using the Integrated Resource Information System (IRIS);
- Establishing new inspection, investigation and compliance audit powers for ministry staff;
- Updating and modernizing penalty provisions;
- Improvements regarding pipeline licensing, construction, operation, and abandonment;
- Providing requirements for financial assurance from operators for pipelines that are in high-risk locations like water crossings; and
- Setting up new obligations associated with environmental issues that might occur following pipeline abandonment.

In regards to updating and modernizing penalty provisions, the new changes will significantly increase the province's ability to levy a financial penalty against a company responsible for an incident. The penalty provision is being raised from $50,000 a day for an incident, to a maximum of $500,000 a day for an incident.

Once the flow-lines are licensed, it would allow for the lines to be added to the Integrated Resource Information System (IRIS), a system that went live last year and would help license and keep track of flow-lines. The system could provide information on the location of specific flow-lines or the last time they were checked.

Pipeline operators must now provide assurance that in the case of a large spill, they would be financially capable of cleaning it up.

“These objectives allow us to complete the recommendations made in the 2012 Provincial Auditor’s Report,” Duncan said. “It will also address relevant public concerns regarding Saskatchewan’s pipeline system by updating current requirements.”