Ottawa excavator fined $90K for gas line strike
An Ottawa excavation company has been fined $90,000 for its role in an incident that led to the release of natural gas on a construction site.
The fine was levied against Glenn Wright Excavating on November 25. The company was convicted of one violation under the Environmental Protection Act. It will also pay a victim fine surcharge of $22,500.
The incident occurred in 2017 when it was subcontracted to install drainage tile at a site near 131 Queen Street in Ottawa’s downtown.
On May 2, the company’s excavator operator was digging a trench at the site, when the equipment bucket struck a buried two-inch gas utility tee junction box that was connected to a four-inch natural gas line. The strike caused the junction to crack and spill natural gas to the environment. Over several hours, approximately eight thousand cubic metres of natural gas was released.
The company had obtained properly certified natural gas locates for its work, but those locates did not note the location of the gas utility tee, which had been abandoned.
Guidelines and best practices issued by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority suggest that excavation work within 12 inches of any gas line should be hand dug.
Enbridge Gas Distributions Inc. and the Ottawa Fire Services attended the scene and evacuated the public, area business and government offices, and close several nearby streets. The natural gas was shut-off in the areas, which affected 44 area customers for several hours.
The city transit system incurred approximately $12,481 in additional operator costs as a result of the disruption, and Enbridge Gas incurred costs of $39,459 to repair the gas line.