Energy Safety and Security Act (S.C. 2015, c. 4)
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Assented to 2015-02-26
Energy Safety and Security Act
S.C. 2015, c. 4
Assented to 2015-02-26
An Act respecting Canada’s offshore oil and gas operations, enacting the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act, repealing the Nuclear Liability Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts
SUMMARY
Part 1 of this enactment amends the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act, the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, the Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act (the “Acts”) primarily to update, strengthen and increase the level of transparency of the liability regime that is applicable to spills and debris in the offshore areas.
More specifically, Part 1, among other things,
(a) expressly includes the “polluter pays” principle, which is consistent with the notion that the liability of at-fault operators is unlimited;
(b) increases to $1 billion the limit of liability, without proof of fault or negligence, to which certain operators are subject in the event of a spill or damages caused by debris;
(c) provides that an applicant for an authorization for the drilling for or development or production of oil or gas must demonstrate that it has the financial resources required to pay the greatest of the amounts of the limits of liability that apply to it;
(d) establishes a regime in respect of the development of transboundary pools and fields;
(e) provides for new circumstances in which information or documentation that is privileged may be disclosed;
(f) establishes a legal framework to permit the safe use of spill-treating agents in specific circumstances;
(g) harmonizes the environmental assessment process for projects for which the National Energy Board, the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board or the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board is the responsible authority, as defined in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, with the requirements of that Act, including by establishing timelines for carrying out environmental assessments and creating participant funding programs to facilitate the participation of the public in environmental assessments; and
(h) creates administrative monetary penalty regimes.
Finally, Part 1 makes amendments to remove certain discrepancies between the English and French versions of the Acts, as well as to modernize the language in the Acts.
Part 2 of the enactment repeals the Nuclear Liability Act and enacts the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act to strengthen the liability regime applicable after a nuclear incident. It also provides for the establishment, in certain circumstances, of an administrative tribunal to hear and decide claims and implements certain provisions of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
SHORT TITLE
Marginal note:Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Energy Safety and Security Act.
PART 1MODERNIZING CANADA’S OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS REGIME
R.S., c. O-7; 1992, c. 35, s. 2Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act
Marginal note:1992, c. 35, s. 3(3)(F)
2. (1) The definition règlement in section 2 of the French version of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act is replaced by the following:
« règlement »
Marginal note:French version only
règlement Sauf indication contraire du contexte, texte d’application pris par le gouverneur en conseil.
(2) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
“spill-treating agent”
« agent de traitement »
“spill-treating agent”, except in section 25.4, means a spill-treating agent that is on the list established under section 14.2;
3. Section 2.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):
(b.01) accountability in accordance with the “polluter pays” principle;
Marginal note:1994, c. 10, s. 2; 2012, c. 19, s. 118
4. Subsection 4.1(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Delegation
4.1 (1) The National Energy Board may delegate any of its powers under section 5, 5.02, 5.03, 5.11, 5.12, 26.1 or 27 to any person, and the person shall exercise those powers in accordance with the terms of the delegation.
5. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 4.1:
COST RECOVERY
Marginal note:Regulations respecting fees, etc.
4.2 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) respecting the fees or charges, or the method of calculating the fees or charges, to be paid for the provision, by the National Energy Board or the Minister, of a service or product under this Act;
(b) respecting the fees or charges, or the method of calculating the fees or charges, in respect of any of the National Energy Board’s or the Minister’s activities under or related to this Act or under any other Act of Parliament, that are to be paid by
(i) a person who makes an application for an authorization under paragraph 5(1)(b) or an application under subsection 5.1(2), or
(ii) the holder of an operating licence or authorization issued under section 5; and
(c) respecting the refund of all or part of any fee or charge referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), or the method of calculating that refund.
Marginal note:Amounts not to exceed cost
(2) The amounts of the fees or charges referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall not exceed the cost of providing the services or products.
Marginal note:Amounts not to exceed cost
(3) The amounts of the fees or charges referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall not exceed the cost of performing the activities under or related to this Act or under any other Act of Parliament.
Marginal note:1992, c. 35, s. 8; 1994, c. 10, s. 15
6. (1) Subsection 5(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Requirements for operating licence
(3) An operating licence is subject to any requirements that are determined by the National Energy Board or that are prescribed and to any deposits that are prescribed.
Marginal note:1992, c. 35, s. 8
(2) Paragraph 5(5)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) a requirement, approval or deposit subject to which the licence or authorization was issued;
(a.1) a fee or charge payable in accordance with regulations made under section 4.2;
Marginal note:1992, c. 35, s. 8
(3) Paragraph 5(5)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) subsection 5.11(3), 5.12(2), 26.1(4) or (5) or 27(1.1), (1.2) or (5); or
7. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 5:
Marginal note:Timing
5.001 (1) If an application for an authorization under subsection 5(1) is made with respect to a work or activity proposed to be carried on in whole or in part in any area in respect of which the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has administrative responsibility for natural resources, the National Energy Board shall, within 18 months after the day on which the applicant has, in the Board’s opinion, provided a complete application, either issue the authorization to the applicant under that subsection or notify the applicant in writing of its decision not to issue the authorization.
Marginal note:Extensions
(2) The Minister may, by order, extend the period referred to in subsection (1) by a maximum of three months. The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, by order, further extend that period by any additional period or periods of time.
Marginal note:Environmental assessment
(3) If the application for an authorization is in respect of a designated project, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, for which the National Energy Board is the responsible authority, as defined in that subsection, the Board shall issue the decision statement referred to in section 54 of that Act in respect of the designated project within the period referred to in subsection (1) or, if the period is extended under subsection (2), within that extended period.
Marginal note:Excluded period
(4) If the National Energy Board requires the applicant to provide information or undertake a study with respect to the work or activity, the period that is taken by the applicant, in the Board’s opinion, to comply with the requirement is not included in the calculation of the period referred to in subsection (1) or, if the period is extended under subsection (2), within that extended period.
Marginal note:Public notice of excluded period
(5) The National Energy Board shall, without delay, make public the dates on which the period referred to in subsection (4) begins and ends.
Marginal note:Participant funding program
5.002 The National Energy Board may establish a participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public in the environmental assessment, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, of any designated project, as defined in that subsection, for which the Board is the responsible authority, as defined in that subsection, that meets the condition set out in paragraph 58(1)(a) of that Act and that is the subject of an application for an authorization under subsection 5(1).
8. (1) The Act is amended by adding the following after section 5.02:
Spill-treating Agent
Marginal note:Net environmental benefit
5.021 The National Energy Board shall not permit the use of a spill-treating agent in an authorization issued under paragraph 5(1)(b) unless the Board determines that the use of the spill-treating agent is likely to achieve a net environmental benefit.
(2) Section 5.021 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Net environmental benefit
5.021 The National Energy Board shall not permit the use of a spill-treating agent in an authorization issued under paragraph 5(1)(b) unless the Board determines, taking into account any prescribed factors and any factors the Board considers appropriate, that the use of the spill-treating agent is likely to achieve a net environmental benefit.
Marginal note:1992, c. 35, s. 8; 1994, c. 10, s. 15
9. Section 5.03 of the Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:
Financial Requirements
Marginal note:Compliance with certain provisions
5.03 The National Energy Board shall, before issuing an authorization for a work or activity referred to in paragraph 5(1)(b), ensure that the applicant has complied with the requirements of subsections 26.1(1) or (2) and 27(1) or (1.01) in respect of that work or activity.
10. Section 5.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following in numerical order:
Marginal note:Transboundary pool or field
(7) The definitions in sections 29 and 48.15 apply in subsections (8) to (12).
Marginal note:Approval subject to agreement and consent
(8) Despite subsection (4), a development plan submitted for approval in respect of a work or activity in a transboundary pool or field that is the subject of a joint exploitation agreement is not to be approved by the National Energy Board unless the appropriate regulator has agreed to its content. That approval is subject to the consent of the Governor in Council in relation to Part I of the development plan and any requirements that the Board and regulator have agreed are appropriate or that may be prescribed.
Marginal note:Disagreement
(9) In the case of a disagreement about the content of the plan submitted for approval, or any of the requirements for approval referred to in subsection (8), the Minister, on the National Energy Board’s behalf, or the regulator may refer the matter to an expert in accordance with section 48.27.
Marginal note:Submissions in relation to Part I
(10) Any submissions to the expert by the Minister on the National Energy Board’s behalf regarding Part I of the development plan are subject to the prior consent of the Governor in Council.
Marginal note:Expert’s decision
(11) The expert’s decision is deemed to be approval by the National Energy Board of the plan, and Part I of that plan is deemed to have been consented to by the Governor in Council under subsection (8).
Marginal note:Application of certain provisions
(12) Subsections (7) to (11) apply, with any necessary modifications, with respect to a proposed amendment to a development plan to which a work or activity in a transboundary pool or field or to any requirement that the approval of the plan is subject.
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