Company-wide drill in Texas tests Enbridge's ER capabilities

Enbridge Enterprise Emergency Response team (E3RT) gathers for real-time emergency response drill

A proper emergency response, just like an exceptional construction project, requires a solid framework.

In recent weeks, about 100 members of the Enbridge Enterprise Emergency Response team (E3RT) gathered from across our North American operations and converged on Fort Worth, Texas, for a real-time emergency response drill.

After months in the planning, the two-day exercise on Nov. 12 and 13 started with a day of training and preparations, followed by a day-long simulation of a large-scale incident – in this case, a sour gas release from a natural gas pipeline – to test Enbridge’s response capacities.

And as per the usual protocol, the Fort Worth E3RT drill tested and honed the Enbridge team’s expertise using the Incident Command System (ICS) – a state-of-the-art emergency response system, used across North American by military, first-response agencies, and local, provincial/state, and federal governments.

“Since it’s a standardized system, ICS is a great tool that removes the typical disorder of a large-scale emergency event,” remarks Mike Moeller, the director and general manager of Enbridge’s U.S. Midcontinent liquids pipelines assets, who served as Incident Commander at Fort Worth.

The organizers of Enbridge’s third annual E3RT drill put the participants through their paces by providing “injects” – the surprises that real life can throw in the way of the best-laid plans – to test their ability to adapt to the emerging issues and challenges that are inevitable in a real-life emergency response.

“Our Incident Commander fell ill after the first day – a bit of a curve-ball, scripted by our event designers – and I, as Deputy IC, was asked to step up. Using the ICS process allows us to adapt quickly and efficiently to such changes,” says Moeller.

E3RT, established in early 2012, is a company-wide team of Enbridge employees who are trained in emergency response and steeped in ICS. That common, across-the-board understanding of ICS, and implementation with other response partners, helps in making our emergency response safer, more efficient, and more effective.

During the Fort Worth E3RT drill, observers from local first responders, agencies, government, and industry scrutinized the process and got a firsthand look at how Enbridge is prepared to react, in the unlikely event of a large-scale incident.

“Our E3RT exercise in Fort Worth was really invaluable to everyone who attended,” reflects Moeller. “As a prudent operator, we hope to never use the ICS system. However, training like this is necessary, and assures our response will be effective in the unlikely event we need to use it at a real large-scale event.

“We want our E3RT unit to be the best-trained, best-prepared, and least-used team at Enbridge.”

Emergency response and preparedness are just one aspect of Enbridge’s comprehensive pipeline safety and maintenance program, which includes multiple layers of protection. We held 381 exercises, drills, and equipment deployment events company-wide*** in 2012, and 478 more in 2013. Meanwhile, we’ve invested and deployed $50-million in new response equipment, from booms to boats, across the Enbridge enterprise since 2012.

In the past three years, we’ve also trained more than 1,000 Enbridge employees in the ICS system, with more of our workforce being trained all the time to enhance our overall preparedness.