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Urban Pipeline
Project Overview
Background
For more than 100 years ATCO Pipelines has safely and reliably transported natural gas from producers to communities and industrial customers through a network of high-pressure pipelines. For residential customers, these high-pressure lines feed the low-pressure local distribution pipelines, managed by companies such as ATCO Gas, that deliver the natural gas to homes and businesses. In the 1950s and 60s a network of high-pressure pipelines was built on, what was predominately, the outskirts of both Edmonton and Calgary to deliver natural gas to the growing communities. Over the years, urban development in Edmonton and Calgary has overgrown the network of high-pressure natural gas pipelines placing homes, schools and businesses adjacent to these lines. This has created three serious concerns for ATCO Pipelines: 1. Public Safety Due to the proximity of these pipelines to densely populated areas, and the very high pressures at which they operate, an incident involving these pipelines has the potential for tragic consequences. Additionally, despite our best efforts to educate the public, pipelines are still hit by third parties during excavation activities. The current location of these pipelines continues to make them vulnerable to damage and increases the risk that an incident will occur. 2. Construction Standards - These pipelines were constructed to the standards of 50 years ago and are more vulnerable to failure as they near the end of their expected operating life as high-pressure lines. Pipelines built to todays standards have the advantage of substantial improvements in materials, inspection capabilities and damage prevention technologies that reduce the risk of an incident. 3. Meeting Demand - As Edmonton and Calgary continue to grow in size and population, the location and capacity of the existing high-pressure network will not be able to meet the associated growth in demand for natural gas in these cities. This situation is a matter of public safety that is challenging cities across North America. There have already been serious incidents in other jurisdictions prompting ATCO Pipelines to re-evaluate the integrity of its existing pipeline network. As a result, ATCO Pipelines has developed a solution that will dramatically improve public safety and ensure that customers receive safe, reliable natural gas service for decades to come.
the Project
ATCO Pipelines has developed a proactive solution, the Urban Pipeline Replacement (UPR) Project, that will be considered for approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC). The UPR Project is composed of 10 distinct projects that, if approved, will see a new, modern high-pressure network of natural gas pipelines constructed inside the Transportation/Utility Corridor (TUC) of each city over a period of five years. Unlike many other jurisdictions in North America, Edmonton and Calgary benefit from the Province of Albertas foresight in establishing the TUCs in the 1970s to accommodate utility infrastructure as well as a ring road. These corridors were specifically designed to provide a controlled space to safely locate infrastructure for the growing cities. By shifting the high-pressure transmission of natural gas to a new, modern pipeline network located within the designated TUCs, the UPR Project will reduce the risk of a serious incident by up to 95%. The new pipelines will have significant technological improvements over the existing high-pressure network including: modern pipeline coatings that better protect the pipe from corrosion; enhanced welding practices that reduce the occurrence of leaks; inspection of 100% of the welds during construction; inline inspection capabilities that will detect defects in pipelines and identify repairs required prior to an incident occurring, and remote monitoring technologies that provide early warning of threats to the integrity of the pipeline.
By shifting the high-pressure transmission of natural gas to the TUC, the UPR Project will greatly improve public safety and provide the additional capacity to meet the growing demand for natural gas. ATCO Pipelines believes that the UPR Project is the only viable solution to address the long-term safety and growth of the Edmonton system.
Open Houses:
Century Hotel and Casino 13103 Fort Road | Thurs. Dec. 6, 4 - 9pm
10010 12 Avenue SW | Sun. Dec. 9, 11am - 4pm
4404 Gateway Boulevard | Mon. Dec. 10, 4 - 9pm 4440 Gateway Boulevard | Tues. Dec. 11, 4 - 9pm
visit www.atcopipelines.com/upr
The Transportation/Utility Corridors (TUCs) were designed to facilitate infrastructure development in Edmonton and Calgary by accommodating the provincial ring road system, major power lines, pipelines, regional water and sewer lines and telecommunication lines.
The corridors are nearly a kilometre wide and provide a safe designated space to place high-pressure natural gas pipelines.
Name:
You can make your voice heard by completing the attached comment card, calling us at 1-855-802-7546 (Monday to Friday, 8am - 6pm), visiting our web site at www.atcopipelines.com/upr or meeting with us at one of the Open Houses. An important component of our submission to the Alberta Utilities Commission will be the feedback we receive from you. Online, on the phone, or in person, ATCO Pipelines is committed to listening to your comments, answering your questions, addressing your concerns and sharing your feedback.
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This issue is a matter of public safety that will have a direct impact on your home and family.
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Thank you for providing your comments and contact information above. We value your comments. As part of our Urban Pipeline Replacement (UPR) Project we will be consulting with various stakeholders, such as yourself, and will be collecting, using and disclosing your comments, feedback and other information that you may provide to us in connection with the planning, development and regulatory review of the UPR Project. By providing your information and comments above, you are asking to participate in this process and are consenting to the collection, use and disclosure of such information for such purposes. At ATCO Pipelines, we take your privacy seriously. For more information about our privacy practices and policies, please visit www.atcopipelines.com/Privacy or contact our privacy officer at 403-245-7060.
Visit www.atcopipelines.com/upr Call 1-855-802-7546 (Mon. to Fri. 8am - 6pm) Complete and return the feedback card attached to this document Attend one of our Open Houses
ATCO Pipelines would like to talk to you in person. Listed below are a number of Open Houses we will be hosting to walk you through the details of the project. We will have our project experts there to answer any questions you may have. If these dates do not work for you and you would like to see us in person, please call us at 1-855-802-7546 and we will be happy to come and visit you at your home.