Emergency Management Program

Kingston Midstream is prepared to respond to emergencies. Our Emergency Management Program strives to minimize potential impacts to the public, the environment and the municipalities we operate in. This is achieved by our commitment to continual improvement through the development and implementation of emergency response plans, maintaining response equipment throughout our operating areas, liaising with local emergency responders and providing our employees with the skills they need to respond rapidly and safely to incidents. Kingston Midstream is regulated by the Canada Energy Regulator and provincially through the Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments. These regulatory bodies have requirements that Kingston Midstream must follow including implementation of an Emergency Management Program.

Emergency Management Policy, Goals and Objectives

Our Emergency Management Policy guides our vision and includes our roles and responsibilities to ensure we are committed to managing all emergencies and are prepared to protect the public, employees, environment, and property.

Kingston Midstream has adopted an all-hazards approach to emergency management which encompasses integrated functions of mitigation/prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. Some goals of our Emergency Management Program are built upon these functions and include:

  • Prevent emergencies before they happen;
  • Plan based on an all-hazards risk-based approach;
  • Prepare to safely and effectively respond to emergencies;
  • Coordinate and mobilize all necessary resources and activities to manage an emergency; and
  • Re-establish and rebuild conditions and services to a pre-incident or better condition.

Objectives are implemented to accomplish the above goals. These include:

  • Identify hazards and complete analysis to develop procedures and plans;
  • Train employees for emergency preparedness and response;
  • Complete exercises to test emergency response plans and procedures;
  • Maintain availability of equipment and resources to ensure timely response for emergencies;
  • Liaise, inform and educate the public and external agencies of our procedures, plans and response for those who may be involved in an emergency; and
  • Ensure a coordinated and organized response to emergencies by utilizing an incident management system.

Our Emergency Management Program is an integral of Kingston Midstream’s Safety and Loss Management System which also guides our Health and Safety, Security, Environment, Damage Prevention, and Integrity programs.

Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Controls, Clean-up and Remediation

Kingston Midstream’s hazard and risk management process is an important function for our Safety and Loss Management System and Emergency Management Program. We maintain a list of hazards through a comprehensive hazard identification process which addresses risks to people, environment and property. When evaluating risk, we take into consideration the likelihood of an event occurring combined with the potential consequences. We then proactively manage those risks through controls to protect the public, environment, employees, and our organization. Our stakeholder engagement program seeks hazard and risk input from the public and agencies which is then considered during the process.

Kingston Midstream’s Emergency Management Program identifies the primary hazards and risks of interest based on the work that we do. Any event within our control that could harm people, environment or property such as crude oil and natural gas liquids releases from our facilities are addressed and this helps us identify what mitigation and controls we can put in place for emergency preparedness, this includes:

  • Equipment and resource types and placement;
  • Exercise locations and frequency;
  • Creation of plans and procedures;
  • Mutual aid agreements with contractors and other companies; and
  • Training for employees or others that may be involved in an emergency response.

When considering clean-up and remediation we have plans and procedures in place to re-establish and rebuild conditions and services that comply with all local regulations.

Emergency Procedures Manual

Kingston Midstream has many programs in place for preventing incidents from occurring in the first place, however, in rare circumstances where an emergency happens, Kingston Midstream has developed plans to help respond quickly with detailed procedures. These response plans get tested regularly through exercises and are annually updated to address changes in our operations to ensure our plans reflect the most up-to-date information.

The Emergency Procedures Manual details the actions we take and the responsibilities of others that may be involved in the event of an emergency such as a pipeline release. The manual is arranged in 13 sections and 5 appendices, sections 2 through 8 comprise of operational emergency actions:

  • 2.0 Health and Safety
  • 3.0 Leak Detection
  • 4.0 General Guidance and Communication
  • 5.0 Initial Response
  • 6.0 Response Operations
  • 7.0 Spill Response
  • 8.0 Natural Gas Liquids Response

Sections 9 through 13 comprise of support information:

  • 9.0 Contacts and Agencies
  • 10.0 Response Equipment
  • 11.0 Company Infrastructure
  • 12.0 Sensitive Areas
  • 13.0 Training and Exercise Program

Kingston Midstream has an obligation to ensure that the public and local emergency services are provided with our Emergency Procedures Manual. Some information such as employee and resident contact information has been redacted to protect the privacy of these individuals. Kingston Midstream also maintains other plans to ensure the safety of the environment and surrounding communities. This includes Tactical Control Point Plans downstream of our pipeline water crossings which are predetermined locations to respond to releases and Facility Response Plans which address facility evacuations and fire response information.

We are committed to ensuring the safety of all our employees, contractors, emergency responders and the public when responding to an emergency. We encourage feedback as part of our public consultation process. Requests for the Emergency Procedures Manual can be made by completing the request information below and pressing Submit.

Disclaimer

Kingston Midstream appreciates your interest. Your privacy is important and we want you to understand our practices in gathering information from visitors to this site and the uses we make of that information. By completing the above request form and submitting, you are providing your consent for personal information to be gathered by Kingston Midstream. The information gathered through your submission request is required by Kingston Midstream to help us understand who is requesting such information and in what capacity. In accordance with the Canadian Standard Association’s Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information and Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, your personal information is not and will not be shared with third parties. We do not distribute or sell personal information to third parties for the purpose of allowing them to market their products and services to you.

By virtue of your request to receive Kingston Midstream’s Emergency Procedures Manual for its CER-regulated assets, you acknowledge the manual provided is for viewing and awareness only. The material provided is the exclusive property of Kingston Midstream and its affiliates. Kingston Midstream assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document or for direct, incidental or consequential losses or damages that may result from the external use or duplication of this material. Some portions of the manual have been redacted for the purpose of securing personal information and the protection of the public, environment and property.

If you have any questions about this disclaimer, please contact info@kingstonmidstream.com

 

Incident Management, Training, and Exercises

Kingston Midstream’s emergency response management approach is based on the Incident Command System (ICS) to ensure a coordinated and organized response to emergencies. ICS is a widely-embraced emergency response coordination tool. While ICS provides a planning process, its primary use is in the coordination and integration of various response groups of a response. ICS comprises a sound basis on which to formulate a response management system.

ICS has the capability to be flexible depending on the type or size of an incident and the ability to expand or contract. One individual within the ICS structure may assume several responsibilities for minor incidents, whereas other incidents could require more positions to be filled. Kingston Midstream has dedicated Emergency Response Teams to fill ICS roles. Regardless of the size of the ICS organization, the Incident Commander is responsible for the overall management and response of the emergency.

Unified Command (UC) is an expansion of the ICS organization. To be a member of the UC you must have authority and jurisdiction. UC members may include government agencies, organizations or private industries bringing large amounts of tactical and support resources to the table. The need for UC is brought about when an incident impacts the boundaries of authority or functional responsibility of more than one agency or organization. As a component of ICS, the UC is a structure that brings together the “Incident Commanders” of all major organizations that have authority and responsibility for the incident to coordinate an effective response while carrying out their own agencies responsibilities. UC links the responding organizations to the incident and provides a forum for these agencies to make consensus decisions. Under UC, the various agencies with authority and/or organizations and non-government responders may blend together throughout the organization to create an integrated response team. Ultimately, Kingston Midstream is committed to taking control of an incident and will involve all necessary parties including government and first responders to ensure a safe response.

 

Training and Exercises

Kingston Midstream has a robust training and exercise program that challenges our employees to remain prepared for an incident. Training is a continuous process where each potential company responder receives when assigned duties in the emergency response organization so that they can perform those duties if required. Training for our staff includes:

  • Different levels of Incident Command System based on responsibility;
  • Basic emergency preparedness;
  • Boat handling;
  • Specialized response tactics; and
  • Cold weather response.

Exercises are held annually to test the effectiveness of our training and plans including the Emergency Procedures Manual. Types of exercises conducted include workshops, drills, tabletops, equipment deployments, functional exercise, and full-scale exercises. These exercises occur throughout our operational footprint and are often attended by local emergency response agencies, government representatives, industry partners, and Indigenous leaders. Involvement by all ensures Kingston Midstream can work coherently to reduce potential impact.

Continuing Education and Stakeholder Engagement

Kingston Midstream has developed a continuing education program for the police, fire departments, medical facilities, other appropriate organizations and agencies and the public residing adjacent to the pipeline to inform them of the location of the pipeline, potential emergency situations involving the pipeline and the safety procedures to be followed in the case of an emergency. Kingston Midstream will liaise with emergency response agencies, the public, and others through face to face visits, telephone conversations and information sessions to discuss topics such as communication, coordination during an incident, training, capacity, resources, and agreements. These activities happen one to three years or sooner depending on location. If you or an agency is interested in our emergency response planning process, please contact ERplan@kingstonmidstream.com.