Pipeline Installation Depth Through Road Allowances
Res #: 11-18M
Number: 11
Year: 2018
Midterm: Yes
Expired: No
Responses Received: Yes
Departments: Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
WHEREAS the Ministry of Highway and Infrastructure’s Roadside Management Manual states that the top of a pipeline shall be not less than 1.2 metres below the roadway surface, and not less than 0.75 metres below the surface of the ditch bottom, whichever is the greater depth. This depth is not adequate should a municipality need to build the road above that installed pipe or any other underground facility in the future;
WHEREAS many municipalities have longstanding policies in place requiring pipelines or any other underground facility to be installed at a depth to which construction if required on the road above the pipe would be safe and far less likely to require the pipe or any other underground facility to be lowered;
WHEREAS once a pipeline or any other underground facility is installed the municipality must then abide by each and every condition placed on it by the owner of the pipeline or any other underground facility in order to make necessary alterations/or construction of the road within the municipality’s own road allowance, in an effort to provide an expected level of service to its ratepayers. In following each and every condition or having to wait for the pipeline or any other underground facility to be lowered it may in many cases delay or possibly cancel that construction project;
BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the provincial government to have the depths of pipeline or any other underground facility installations be changed to a more suitable depth.
View response from the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
Responses From: Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
October 6, 2022
Safely transporting energy products over long distances via pipelines is a key component in the success of the Saskatchewan oil and natural gas industry and the Saskatchewan Growth Plan.
Saskatchewan is the most attractive jurisdiction in Canada for oil and gas investment, according to the Fraser lnstitute’s Canada-United States Energy Sector Competitiveness Survey for 2021, and I am very cautious when considering new conditions imposed on our energy sector that may reflect poorly on our province.
In Saskatchewan, pipelines are licensed in accordance with The Pipelines Act, 1998 and the associated regulations require that pipelines be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in accordance with applicable Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards for oil and gas pipeline systems.
As previously stated, the province can establish a standard (pipeline depth in this case) that exceeds CSA standards. However, I do not believe that with the current standards and controls in place, there is a compelling case to do so.
The Honourable Jeremy Cockrill – Minister of Highways and Infrastructure, Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure
