Everything we do at Enbridge begins with safe and reliable operations to keep our energy infrastructure healthy and fit for service. Our goal, always, is to lead our industry in safety and reliability.

Business Context and our Strategic Response

Enbridge’s integrity management program addresses all aspects of evaluating and maintaining asset integrity to minimize risks and consequences. We take a lifecycle view of integrity management, encompassing design and construction, monitoring and prevention, leak detection and community outreach and engagement.

Maintaining and continually improving upon safe, reliable performance requires us to not only diligently inspect our pipelines and facilities to ensure fitness for service; we must also learn from past incidents and near misses so we continually strengthen the system of barriers and controls that will prevent leaks and releases.

We are disappointed when we experience any incident—of any magnitude. Our goal is clear: to prevent all injuries, occupational illnesses and incidents. We investigate each event to identify and address root causes. The learnings from incidents, research and reviews feed back into our management system, our operating procedures and the conversations we have with our employees about maintaining an accountable, vigilant and resilient safety culture.

Our Approach

We invest in tools, technology and leading-edge research to continually improve our understanding of threats to our system and our ability to prevent them. We examine the effectiveness of our operational controls and management system to determine if we have any unmitigated risks or areas where we are underperforming on safety and reliability.

We invest significantly in the fitness of our systems and in leak detection:

• We monitor our systems 24/7, 365 days a year.
• We continually inspect pipelines and facilities to ensure optimal safety and reliability performance.
• We conduct visual right-of-way surveillance—both ground and air patrols—to watch for potential issues.
• We verify our performance and protective measures.
• We secure our systems against all identified threats.
• We monitor our pipelines for possible leaks using multiple computerized systems, each with a different focus and each using different technology, resources and timing to provide overlapping and layered leak detection.

We actively research and develop new inspection, prevention and leak detection technologies to meet our needs and continually improve our ability to manage the hazards to our system.

Managing Hazards

How the integrity of a pipeline is managed depends on the threats the pipeline faces. Because every pipeline faces unique threats and stresses, Enbridge employs a wide range of risk assessment, inspection and surveillance techniques. Once threats and hazards have been identified, we select an optimal combination of controls and safety barriers to preserve integrity over the life cycle of the pipeline. As inspection technology, pipeline materials and construction practices improve with time, and new data on threats and pipeline condition are gathered, our methods of maintaining fitness for service evolve. For more information, please review our commitment to pipeline safety.

For more details on our ongoing actions to maintain the fitness of our systems and detect leaks, please visit the following pages on enbridge.com:
Crude Oil and Liquids Pipeline Systems Integrity; Crude Oil Pipeline Monitoring; Operations; and Natural Gas Systems Integrity.

Our Performance

Maintain Pipeline and Facility Integrity

In 2018, Enbridge invested more than $1.1 billion in programs that help us maintain the fitness of our systems and detect leaks across our operations. Over the past three years, our investment has totaled more than $3.7 billion.

Prevent Spills, Leaks and Releases

The integration of Spectra Energy in 2017 has approximately doubled the asset base of Enbridge, which has had a corresponding effect on the number of incidents that occurred across the expanded Enbridge system. For the purpose of our Sustainability Report, we include incidents that are significant and reportable to our Board of Directors:

• Tier 1 events are commodity releases with greater consequences and/or higher release volumes.
• Other Reportable incidents, termed Tier 2 events, are commodity releases with lesser consequences.

An injury or a fire as a result of a release often dictates classification of an event at a higher tier than the volume released would. Similarly, our management may decide to upgrade how we classify any event— including those that did not result in any spills, releases or harm, but that were potentially serious—to a higher tier if they deem doing so to be prudent. As such, the incidents that we include in this report have not all resulted in a spill or release.

Maintaining the Fitness of Enbridge’s Systems

Liquids/Liquids Systems Process Safety Incidents

Liquids Spills, Leaks and Releases

In 2018, we delivered more than 3.96 billion barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids. We experience 14 process safety events, of which 11 involved the release of a liquid hydrocarbon. The other three involved other forms of uncontained and uncontrolled hazardous energy on a liquids pipeline (e.g. mechanical energy, heat). Of the 11 leaks and releases, two were deemed to be Tier 1 process safety events.

The total volume from the 2018 liquids spills, in all Enbridge business segments, was 411 barrels. Of this total liquids volume released, 206 barrels were on our Liquids Transmission Pipeline System and 205 barrels were in gas processing plants. All but 157 barrels were contained within plant/terminal boundaries or secondary containment. Based on volumes spilled and our gross delivery volumes, we achieved a safe delivery rate greater than 99.99999% in 2018.

Natural Gas Releases

Natural Gas Process Safety Incidents

In 2018, Enbridge transported and distributed more than 10.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas through our natural gas pipelines and our natural gas distribution network. We experienced 26 reportable (Tier 1 and 2) process safety events involving the release of gas from process equipment on our natural gas systems. Of this total, we experienced 14 Tier 1 process safety events.

We experienced two significant incidents on our natural gas system in 2018 and two in 2019.

“Ensuring the safety of our pipelines is a challenge we’re addressing from every perspective—technically, organizationally and culturally. We have set an expectation that we will not have any more failures. We’re developing a multi-faceted plan to meet that expectation with confidence. Safety comes first, without question. In the absence of certainty, fitness for service will not be assumed. Decisions about the safety of our assets are based on facts and data, driving toward quantitative statistical confidence in our assessments. And, assuring the diligence of our assessments through a deliberate quality control review process against our safety targets.”

Andy Drake,
Vice President of Asset Integrity, GTM

• In October 2018, our T-South transmission pipeline ignited in a rural, forested area north of Prince George, British Columbia. There were no injuries associated with the rupture; however, approximately 5.2 hectares of forest were damaged in the fire. Immediately following the incident, the pipeline and an adjacent pipeline were shut down. The pipeline remained shut down until its fitness for service was confirmed and a return-to-service order was issued by the National Energy Board. The majority of the T-South system remains under a pressure restriction while Enbridge completes its comprehensive integrity program on the T-South system.
• In December 2018, a release occurred on our East Tennessee pipeline near Pleasant Shade, TN. A nearby residence and two other buildings sustained limited damage from pipeline cover displaced in the release. Local residents were evacuated, and the pipeline was isolated and blown down without ignition. There were no injuries associated with the incident. Following repairs, gas supply to downstream customers was returned at a reduced pressure while Enbridge conducted its investigation and completes its comprehensive integrity program.
• In January 2019, a rupture occurred on our Texas Eastern Pipeline in Noble County, OH. The rupture resulted in a fire that injured two people and damaged three nearby residences. We coordinated with and supported the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) as the investigation progressed. Enbridge also conducted its own investigation. Following a completion of a comprehensive integrity assessment, all three pipelines were returned to service.
• In August 2019, a rupture occurred on Line 15, part of our Texas Eastern transmission pipeline system, near Danville, KY, resulting in one fatality and several injuries. A number of homes were destroyed. The line was isolated, and the National Transportation Safety Board assumed control of the incident site and ensuing investigation, returning site control to Enbridge after eight days. PHMSA issued a Corrective Action Order which set out return to service and assessment requirements. The two adjacent pipelines to the impacted line were returned to service approximately one month later. At the time of the release of this report, Line 15 remains out of service.

In 2018, our natural gas utility delivered more than 1.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. A large number of small leaks are detected on our utilities network each year because of the significant number of natural gas delivery points. In the vast majority of cases, these below-ground or outside leaks are not hazardous due to the system’s low delivery pressure, small line capacity, and odourization, which serves as a warning sign.

The low-hazard nature of these small leaks means the majority fall below our reportable (Tier 2) process safety event criteria. Leaks due to third-party damage to pipeline assets make up a significant portion of these releases. To help prevent third-party damage, Enbridge has an extensive public education program for pipeline awareness and safe digging. Enbridge also supports and is a member of one-call/ locate services.

Detailed data related to the safety performance of all our businesses are located in the Performance Data.

*Reflects Enbridge Gas Distribution data only.