A CBC News investigation involving B.C.
contractors found most were not going to check for underground gas or
electrical lines before they started digging, shedding light on a nationwide
problem.
The rupturing of pipes is a big issue in
Canada as lines are being hit thousands of times each year. In B.C. alone,
gas lines were hit 1,700 times in 2007. In Ontario there are an average of
3,500 gas-line hits every year.
The probe discovered that fines and
prosecutions are rare after gas lines are hit and homeowners must be aware
when it comes to locating the pipes.
As part of its investigation, Marketplace
asked seven contractors for estimates to build a new fence for a Metro
Vancouver home.
Despite being asked directly about the risk
of hitting underground gas or electric pipes — only two of the seven said
they would call and check before they started digging.
"When we make a hole, we're just careful,
you know," one of the contractors told CBC's investigative team.
But when Marketplace had professional
locator Andrew Mark check the property with specialized equipment, he
determined there was a gas line just 50 centimetres below where the
contractors were planning to dig holes for the fence.
"When you are putting in a post you are
looking at between two and three feet [60 cm to 90 cm]," said Mark, "As
they're excavating for the fence posts, they're definitely going to be in
that danger zone."
7 dead in 2003 explosion
Natural gas is lighter than air, and in the
open it will rise and disperse, but in a building it can collect and a
simple spark can lead to disaster.
On April 24, 2003, seven people were killed
after a contractor in Toronto hit a gas line at the corner of Bloor Street
West and Poplar Avenue and leveled a shopping plaza.
Other pipes can be hazardous as well.
Numerous services are buried under suburban neighborhoods, including
electrical cables, fiber optics, sewage, water and even crude oil.
In B.C. this past July, a road crew digging
with an excavator on Inlet Drive near the intersection of the Barnet Highway
and Hastings Street in Burnaby ruptured a Kinder Morgan pipeline carrying
crude oil from a refinery to a refueling facility.
A stream of black crude shot 30 meters into
the air like a geyser for 25 minutes before the pipeline was shut down.
About 50 homes were evacuated and almost 240,000 liters of crude oil
eventually spilled into Inlet Drive and Burrard Inlet.
The case is still before the courts and
it's not yet clear who was at fault. Meanwhile, some residents have still
been unable to return to their homes.
Education or enforcement?
Prosecutors in Ontario say education, not
enforcement, is the key to compliance, and admit to having only prosecuted
one case in 2007.
In fact, during most cases in Canada, the
only consequence of striking a gas line is a letter or a visit from an
inspector ordering the offenders to "cease and desist" from hitting gas
lines. Fines are rare.
In the case of the Toronto explosion, the
contractor, Warren Bitulithic, was fined $280,000, one of the largest fines
ever in Canadian history.
Critics say that has to change, and they
point to the United States as an example of how things should be. In
Virginia, for example, anyone who hits a gas line has to appear in a special
court, even if nobody is harmed.
"We review every single damage that has
come to us for the previous months and present the result to the committee
in pursuing enforcement action," said Massoud Tahamtani, a utilities manager
at the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
That's led to remarkable drop in incidents
— 60 per cent — according to Tahamtani.
"We believe it is the right approach, to
let people know that there is someone enforcing the law."
The state makes it simple for them by
providing an 811 telephone service that gathers all the information anyone
would need about underground pipes and wire with a single phone call, often
while callers wait on the line.
Users can even send in GPS co-ordinates to
get precise information.
"We encourage everyone, including the
homeowners, to call even if they are digging to plant a tree," said
Tahamtani.
Homeowners need to be aware
In Canada, five provinces, B.C., Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec offer a similar service, but it's not
mandatory for utilities to belong, so homeowners still might need to make
more calls to make sure they get all the information they need.
In B.C., the local gas company, Terasen
Gas, expects homeowners and contractors to locate the pipes themselves with
maps they send out.
In other provinces, it can take up to a
dozen phone calls and several days to get that information, the Marketplace
investigation found.
Ultimately, homeowners need to make sure
for themselves that they know where any pipelines might be buried before
anyone starts digging, Marketplace investigators advise.
