CER Expectations for Emergency Procedures Manuals

CER Expectations for Emergency Procedures Manuals [PDF 57 KB]

Companies are required under the Onshore Pipeline Regulations to have an emergency procedures manual. The information below is only a summary of some of the key points we need companies to understand about these manuals. Companies are expected to be fully aware of what is required of them in legislation and regulations.

What’s in an emergency procedures manual?

Icon of a numbered list. Shows the numbers 1, 2, and 3. Lines are next to the numbers to show that these are steps.

The first steps company responders will take if something happens (initial actions).

Icon of a bell. There’s a circle to the top right of the bell with an exclamation mark. Two lines encompass the exclamation mark to signal movement.

Who needs to be notified and how.

Icon showing a document. A pencil is on top.

Procedures the company will follow during a response.

Icon showing 3 people with a speech bubble over them. Two lines with arrows are circling around them.

Roles and responsibilities of all involved in the response.

Everyone involved in the response needs a copy

Any response to an emergency needs to be effective. This means that everyone responding to an emergency needs to know what the plan is and be able to work together. As a result, companies must also share their manual, or sections of it, with emergency planners, first responders, and other agencies. Although the company is primarily responsible for responding to an emergency, emergency response happens faster and is more effective when everyone involved knows how they fit into the response.

Treat the manual as a living document

Always work to improve and update it

We expect companies to always be working to identify risks, and continually update processes that reduce those risks.

It’s important that companies are always assessing their activities and acting quickly to prevent harm from happening.

Companies need to submit them at least once a year

Companies submit their emergency procedures to us for review at least once a year.

We’ll want to see:

  • the updates made or
  • a letter stating that nothing has changed since the last time the manual was submitted.

A culture of safety can help

An environment where staff are actively engaged and are well trained to watch for risks is essential when working to preventing incidents and harm.

This engagement and leadership of staff through culture can be an immense benefit when working to continually improve upon an emergency procedures manual and keep it up to date.

Emergency manuals are due every year by April 1.

We need one hard copy and one electronic copy.

How do we assess if a company can respond effectively in an emergency?

  • Go on site to evaluate a company’s emergency response exercise.
  • Hold a compliance meeting.
  • Do an audit of an emergency management program.
  • Do thorough reviews of the company’s emergency response manual.
  • Complete an emergency management inspection, which collects views of third party responders.

If at any time during an assessment we find something that isn’t in line with what’s required, we will work to enforce those requirements. Learn more about how we enforce requirements.

Date modified: