Alberta auditor general to probe pipeline safety, rules enforcement

EDMONTON—Alberta’s auditor general is going to take a deeper look at the safety of oil and natural gas pipelines in the province.

In a letter to the Opposition Wildrose party, Merwan Saher says his audit will include how well companies are following government pipeline regulations.

He says it will also include how pipelines are inspected and how the regulations are being enforced.

Last month more than 50 public interest groups called for such an investigation after a government-commissioned report said Alberta has favourable pipeline rules.

Opposition parties and environmental groups said that review was too narrow because it did not look into the effectiveness of enforcement or at what caused specific spills.

The province commissioned its report last summer after a string of oil spills, including a 475,000-litre leak from a Plains Midstream Canada pipeline in central Alberta in June 2012.