Over the past 60 years, Trans Mountain has developed a robust Emergency Management Program (EMP) based on a combination of regulatory compliance, operational need, industry best practice and lessons learned through regular exercises and actual incidents. To accommodate the proposed Project, Trans Mountain is building on the existing EMP by developing an enhanced program. The goal is to develop an industry-leading program that reflects the added scope of the proposed Project, the greater focus on geographic response planning and the response equipment caches and other resources. The enhanced EMP will be developed collaboratively with local stakeholders and Aboriginal groups with an inclusive and thorough approach to consultation.

Since September 2013, Trans Mountain has been seeking input through a series of workshops in communities with key municipal, regional and provincial governments, Aboriginal communities, emergency managers and first responders about the Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) for the existing pipeline. These workshops are an effective way to improve understanding, address concerns and identify areas where we can work collaboratively with communities on the current pipeline and for the expansion.

To inform our industry-leading program, throughout the course of the regulatory review and construction (should the Project be approved), we will continue with the next phase of emergency management workshops in late 2015 and early 2016. Within Part III of our consultation process there will be a series of Emergency Management Stakeholder Workshops. These Workshops are designed to share information about what enhancements are being made to the program and to the ERPs and seek local knowledge and experience on what additional information and resources should be considered in the EMP.

The first of the Emergency Management Stakeholder Workshops recently took place in Kamloops and included representatives from Kamloops and Merritt municipalities and fire departments, Thompson-Nicola Regional District, Emergency Management BC, RCMP, Interior Health and Emergency Managers Association of BC. Participants identified ideas to enhance response coordination and provided detailed input into geographic response planning.

Trans Mountain’s enhanced Emergency Response Plans and supporting documents will be completed and filed with the National Energy Board (NEB) in advance of commissioning and operation of the expanded pipeline.