For more than 65 years, regulations pertaining to spills have evolved significantly. Trans Mountain has always been at the forefront of these changes, often exceeding regulations and standards. In the event of a spill or the discovery of contamination, we work with regulators to follow the process specified in our Emergency Management Program.

Canada Energy Regulator

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) acts as the primary regulator for all interprovincial and international pipelines. The CER is responsible for monitoring how companies comply with regulations and commitments concerning the safety of employees, the public and the environment throughout the entire pipeline lifecycle. The CER's top priority in any emergency is to make sure people are safe and secure and property and the environment are protected. They have a comprehensive Emergency Management Program which can include a field response. Any time there is a serious incident on an CER-regulated energy facility; CER staff may attend the site to oversee the company’s immediate response.

The CER verifies the regulated company conducts an adequate and appropriate clean-up and remediation of any environmental effects caused by an incident. The CER shares responsibility with the Transportation Safety Board for incident investigation. The CER investigates pipeline incidents to determine whether its regulations have been followed and if those regulations may need to be changed, while the Transportation Safety Board investigates the cause of the incident and any contributing factors.

Visit the CER’s website.

Transport Canada

Transport Canada regulates marine vessel traffic, has jurisdiction over shipping safety and is actively involved in the regulation of the  Westridge Marine Terminal as an Oil Handling Facility under the Canada Shipping Act, 2011. They promote efficient marine transportation and safe, secure and sustainable marine practices; oversees marine infrastructure; regulate the safe transportation of dangerous goods by water; and help protect the marine environment.

Transport Canada develops and administers policies, regulations and programs to protect the marine environment; reduce the impact on the environment of marine pollution incidents in Canadian waters; and promote the safety of the general public. It works with its partners to:

For more information about relevant Transport Canada regulations visit their website.

Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA)

The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA)'s mission is to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives. To do this, the agency establishes national policy, sets and enforces standards, educates, and conducts research to prevent incidents. The PHMSA also prepares the public and first responders to reduce consequences if an incident does occur.

PHMSA regulates the Puget Sound Pipeline System. To learn more about PHMSA visit their website.

Provincial/State Authorities

The Alberta, British Columbia, and Washington State authorities coordinate and take actions within their respective jurisdiction to coordinate and support emergency response activities.

Both provinces have a one-window reporting structure through Emergency Management British Colombia (EMBC) and Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) which will trigger a call-down of additional resources if required to support the emergency response actions of the responsible party. Trans Mountain recognizes that in some situations a provincial response may not be required, however the local authorities and/or other potentially impacted provincial agencies may wish participate in the incident command structure and receive additional incident information regardless of the decision to respond.

Washington State has a comprehensive Spills Program that also utilizes a one window reporting structure. The mission of the Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response Program (Spills Program) is to protect Washington’s environment, public health, safety, and economy through a comprehensive regulatory and technical assistance program.