Inspection Officer Order LMR-001-2024 issued to Plains Midstream Canada ULC

November 25, 2024

On November 14, 2024, CER Inspection Officers issued an Inspection Officer Order (IOO) to Plains Midstream Canada ULC (Plains) regarding its failure to manage and mitigate contamination coming from the Windsor Storage Facility and Terminal (Windsor Station) in Windsor, Ontario.

Through an Information Request response from Plains in January 2023, the CER learned that contamination from leaking brine ponds at the Windsor Station may have moved off-facility. The CER initiated a compliance verification activity in May 2024 to gather more information. During the inspection, the Inspection Officer discovered that Plains was aware of contamination at the property boundaries, yet it had not been assessed for off-facility contamination. As a result, the Inspection Officer issued a Notice of Non-Compliance (NNC) to Plains in September 2024. The NNC requires Plains to submit a Remedial Action Plan outlining how to manage the contamination by January 31, 2025.

In a follow-up meeting in October 2024, Plains did not provide an adequate plan to protect people and the environment from contamination. The company also did not have a sufficient plan to fix the leaking brine ponds. Because of this, an IOO was issued.

The IOO requires the company to:

  • Complete a Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment of the potential impacts to people and the environment by January 31, 2026.
  • Complete an Engineering Assessment and Feasibility Assessment to fix or upgrade the brine ponds by January 31, 2026.
  • Submit a corrective action plan by March 31, 2026, to fix or upgrade the ponds while protecting people and the environment.
  • Apply to the Commission to seek approval for the proposed corrective actions to ensure that the source of contamination is managed, and people and the environment are adequately protected from the contamination by September 30, 2026.
  • Provide quarterly updates to the CER Inspection Officer until an application is submitted to the Commission.

We will continue to follow up with Plains to ensure it complies with the IOO and Notice of Non-Compliance.

Inspection Officer Order (IOO LMR-001-2024)

Notice of Non-Compliance

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