Right-of-Way and Pipeline Monitoring in Permafrost: The Norman Wells Pipeline Experience

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick M. Doblanko ◽  
James M. Oswell ◽  
Alan J. Hanna
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Surveillance Program ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Oil Pipeline ◽  
Right Of Way ◽  
Discontinuous Permafrost ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Enbridge Pipelines (NW) Inc. (Enbridge) owns and operates a 323.9 mm outside diameter crude oil pipeline from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada to Zama, Alberta, Canada (Norman Wells Pipeline). The first of its kind in North America, this pipeline, completely buried in discontinuous permafrost, is approximately 869 kilometres in length. The pipeline, designed to operate at ambient temperatures, was constructed during the winter seasons of 1983–1984 and 1984–1985 and began operations in April 1985. Enbridge (formerly Interprovincial Pipe Line (NW) Ltd.), under various regulatory terms and conditions, is required to monitor and report the effects of pipeline construction and operations associated with the environment and right-of-way. The company has been an active participant in joint research and monitoring working groups consisting of various departments of the Government of Canada, Government of Northwest Territories, and other agencies. Over the past seventeen years, Enbridge has developed a monitoring and surveillance program that ensures the safe operation of the pipeline and protection of the environment. Any significant issues arising from the monitoring program result in mitigative actions based on engineering assessments. Furthermore, Enbridge is mandated to inform the appropriate agencies of issues resulting from the monitoring program. This paper will focus on the terrain and geotechnical monitoring programs initiated by Enbridge over its years of operation of this pipeline and will discuss topics including operations and maintenance activities key to pipelines installed in discontinuous permafrost, condition of the pipeline, and the on-going terrain and slope monitoring program.

Field Observations of Cyclical Pipe-Soil Interactions in Permafrost Terrain, KP 5, Norman Wells Pipeline, Canada

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo M. Burgess ◽  
Scott Wilkie ◽  
Rick Doblanko ◽  
Ibrahim Konuk
Keyword(s):  
Small Diameter ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Freezing And Thawing ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Oil Pipeline ◽  
Right Of Way ◽  
Discontinuous Permafrost

The Norman Wells pipeline is an 869 km long, small diameter, buried, ambient temperature, oil pipeline operated by Enbridge Pipeline (NW) Inc. in the discontinuous permafrost zone of northwestern Canada. Since operation began in 1985, average oil temperatures entering the line have been maintained slightly below 0°C, initially through constant chilling year round and since 1993 through a seasonal cycling of temperatures through a range from −4 to +9°C. At one location, 5 km from the inlet at Norman Wells, on level terrain in an area of widespread permafrost, uplift of a 20 m segment of line was observed in the early 1990s. The uplift gradually increased and by 1997 the pipe was exposed 0.5 m above the ground surface. Detailed studies at the site have included field investigations of terrain and thermal conditions, repeated pipe and ground surface elevation surveys, and annual Geopig surveys. The field work has revealed that the section of line was buried in low density soils, thawed to depths of 4 m on-right-of-way, and not subjected to complete refreezing in winter. The thaw depths are related to surface or near-surface flows from a nearby natural spring, as well as to the development of a thaw bulb around the pipe in the cleared right-of-way. Icings indicative of perennial water flow occur commonly at this location in the winter. The pipe experienced annual cycles of heave and settlement (on the order of 0.5 m) due to seasonal freezing and thawing within the surrounding low density soils. The pipe reached its highest elevation at the end of each winter freezing season, and its lowest elevation at the end of the summer thaw period. Superimposed on this heave/settlement cycle was an additional step-like cycle of increasing pipe strain related to thermal expansion and contraction of the pipe. A remedial program was initiated in the winter of 1997–98 in order to curtail the cumulative uplift of the pipe, reduce the increasing maximum annual pipe strain and ensure pipe safety. A 0.5 m cover of sandbags and coarse rock was placed over the exposed pipe segment. Continued pipe elevation monitoring and annual Geopig surveys have indicated that both seasonal heave/settlement and strains have been reduced subsequent to the remedial loading. Introduction of a gravel berm has also altered both the surrounding hydrologic and ground thermal regimes.

Effect of oil pipeline construction on the benthic invertebrate community structure of Hodgson Creek, Northwest Territories

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2154-2160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Young ◽  
Gerald L. Mackie
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Invertebrate Drift ◽  
Pipeline Construction ◽  
Oil Pipeline ◽  
Right Of Way ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

During the ice-free seasons of 1984 and the winter and summer of 1985, we determined the effect of winter oil pipeline construction on benthic invertebrates of Hodgson Creek, Northwest Territories. Total suspended sediments increased from < 2 mgL−1 to > 300 mg L−1 at sampling stations downstream of the pipeline right-of-way during construction, with peak concentrations exceeding 3000 mg L−1. A concurrent increase in benthic invertebrate drift density from 2.6 to 37.6/100 m−3 was observed downstream of construction. The effects of pipeline installation were observed up to 5 weeks following the end of construction. Following the spring snowmelt in 1985, no significant difference in standing crop, species richness, or functional group composition between stations upstream and downstream of the pipeline right-of-way was observed. We concluded that the negative impact of pipeline construction was limited to the period between construction and spring ice breakup. The frequency and magnitude of spate events were sufficient to remove accumulated sediment. Thus, the impact of natural perturbations in Hodgson Creek was greater than the effect of pipeline construction on benthic community structure.

Housing programmes for Eskimos in Northern Canada

Polar Record ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (94) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Yates
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Northern Canada ◽  
Trading Posts ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

The Government of Canada began supplying housing for some of its Eskimo people in the Northwest Territories in 1956. At this date the majority of Eskimos still followed their traditional nomadic way of life and lived in igloos or snow houses during winter, and in skin or canvas tents during summer. Since 1956, the tendency of Eskimo families to settle in the vicinity of trading posts, church missions, and newly established federal schools has increased, and the problem of providing permanent accommodation for them has been aggravated. At first the new townsmen improvised shelters from a combination of tents, packing cases, and scraps of metal, tar paper and lumber. When these inadequate dwellings were used as permanent residences, grave social and public health problems resulted from overcrowding.

Assessment of the Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Substances in the Canadian Environment

2001 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly R. Munkittrick
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disruptors ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Pulp Mill ◽  
Agricultural Chemicals ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Pulp Mill Effluents ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Abstract Endocrine disruptors are a complex issue that continues to evolve. From a government perspective, the issue of endocrine disruptors is complicated by the inclusion of several related issues, making it difficult to deal with in an effective manner. The sub-issues probably need to be dealt with through different regulatory mechanisms. The endocrine disruptor issues can be divided into three main categories: a) issues associated with subtle responses to compounds that are persistent, lipophilic and capable of biomagnification; b) issues associated primarily with non-persistent and relatively hydrophilic substances in industrial and municipal effluents; and c) issues associated with screening existing and new chemicals for their capability of interacting with the endocrine system in an adverse manner. This paper discusses options for dealing with chemicals found in complex mixtures such as pulp mill effluents, sewage effluents and in-use agricultural chemicals. When studies documented potential concerns about the potential for pulp mill effluents to cause reproductive and endocrine changes in fish, the Government of Canada developed an Environmental Effects Monitoring program as part of the new regulatory package. The EEM program is designed to provide information on whether effects are present in the environment when industry complies with their regulated discharge requirements. Endocrine disruptors have the potential to cause environmental effects with other regulated effluents, and an EEM-type of approach would be capable of identifying situations where effects are present and need to be dealt with.

The changing role and significance of native peoples: In Canada's Northwest Territories

Polar Record ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 23 (147) ◽  
pp. 661-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Wonders
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Traditional Culture ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Land Claims ◽  
Native Peoples ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Changing Role ◽  
Do So

AbstractIn Canada's Northwest Territories native peoples constitute the majority of the population, a unique situation which has recently had significant repercussions, national as well as regional, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Native peoples are already playing an increasingly important role politically and economically in the Territories, currently illustrated by a proposed restructuring of the northern political map of Canada. Resolution of Comprehensive Land Claims with the Government of Canada will provide them with a major role in resource development and in policy governing it. At the time that many native peoples are entering into more active participation in modern society, renewed interest that others are showing in aspects of traditional culture creates at least a potential source of friction among them.

Norman Wells pipeline permafrost and terrain monitoring: geothermal and geomorphic observations, 1984–1987

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Burgess ◽  
D. G. Harry
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Regime ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Surface Erosion ◽  
Control Structures ◽  
Oil Pipeline ◽  
Right Of Way ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Right ◽  
Program Components

A long-term permafrost and terrain research and monitoring program along the 869 km buried oil pipeline between Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, and Zama, Alberta, has been undertaken by the Geological Survey of Canada, in cooperation with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The two main program components are (1) the detailed quantification of changes in the geothermal regime and geomorphic conditions at instrumented monitoring sites and (2) general observations of terrain conditions and performance along the pipeline route. Pipeline operation commenced in April 1985. Observations during the first 2.5 years of pipeline operation indicate that, as expected, the pipe thermal regime and ground thermal regime have not yet stabilized in response to construction and operation. Warming trends in both mean annual pipe temperature and mean annual right-of-way ground temperature have occurred. Surface settlement in permafrost terrain is ongoing in the pipe trench as well as on the remainder of the right-of-way. Surface erosion has occurred, particularly at stream crossings and on low-angle slopes lacking erosion control structures. Key words: pipeline, permafrost, thermal regime, thaw settlement, surface erosion, instrumentation, Norman Wells, Mackenzie Valley, Canada.

Wet-Weather Flow Management in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern

2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Kok
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Flow Management ◽  
Beneficial Uses ◽  
Wet Weather ◽  
Areas Of Concern ◽  
Municipal Wastewaters ◽  
Wet Weather Flow ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Abstract Under the Government of Canada's Great Lakes Program, the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund and its predecessor programs (the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund and the Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund) were established to implement cleanup actions and strategies that would contribute to the restoration of beneficial uses in environmentally degraded areas (known as Areas of Concern) in the Great Lakes basin. The Great Lakes Sustainability Fund is administered by Environment Canada on behalf of eight Government of Canada departments. Contributing to impaired beneficial uses are municipal wastewaters generated from the urban centres in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern. These municipal wastewaters include treated sewage and wetweather discharges of combined sewer overflows and stormwater runoff. This paper provides an overview of the Municipal Wastewater Program of the federal government's Great Lakes Sustainability Fund and highlights the progress made to date under the program towards wet-weather flow management and the Program's role in developing and demonstrating sustainable approaches and technologies in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

No umbrella for the rain: Canadian implications following the global revolution in reconnaissance–strike technologies

2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-237
Author(s):  
Marc Kieley
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Gulf War ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Canadian Armed Forces ◽  
Ballistic Missiles ◽  
Defence Policy ◽  
Revolution In Military Affairs ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Global conflicts in 2020 have highlighted the unexpected employment of advanced ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles by developing military powers. The development of ballistic missiles by Iran, or the export of advanced drones by Turkey, are ultimately the result of the American-led revolution in military affairs that, during the Gulf War, established the potential of precision guided weapons and reconnaissance systems. In response, America’s competitors have adapted their military doctrines and developed weapons designed to both counter and copy the West’s technological advantages. As the Government of Canada implements its defence policy—Strong, Secure, and Engaged—it has promised to procure a ground-based air defence system for the Canadian Armed Forces. Careful consideration and analysis are required, however, to ensure that Canada procures the best possible solution given limited funding and a wide array of potential threats.

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