Enbridge Board behaviour

 

A recent news article suggests that the (US) NTSB, blames the (Canadian)National Energy BOARD  for the resultant Enbridge Michigan,Kalamazoo oil spill fiasco.

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Yes a BOARD was at fault—but not the NEB(Board)—but as implied in the original NTSB report, it was Enbridge—ULTIMATELY the Enbridge BOARD--who else? How’s the NEB going to FIX things?

 

Corporate BOARDS, of complex technical facilities, must have a structure that requires a RESPONSIBLE Corporate Technical OFFICER(CTO) to monitor and Counsel a Board about the condition of the physical plant and the schedule for any required action—on an ongoing basis(similar to the Corporate Financial Officer(CFO) who counsels about financial issues).Fiduciary matters are important—but SOCIETAL matters are also a Board’s responsibilities!

With this structure the Board then becomes ACCOUNTABLE for plant integrity and deficiencies;for example,major pipeline LEAKS. Simple as that!

As a minimum the BOARD must be seen to have been diligent in managing their facilities appropriately! Good management doesn’t necessarily eliminate incidents, such as leaks—but a good , well organized management will certainly minimize incidents—and likely improve response to incidents when the need arises!

The article suggests that the NEB or NTSB can somehow MAKE the ENBRIDGES of the world pay more attention to safety—ha ha! Make the Corporate Board ACCOUNTABLE then they’ll do a good job or they’ll bear the CONSEQUENCES of their good or bad management!

Or should we instead hire ‘lots’ of NEB inspectors to snoop around looking for boo boos!

The existing regulations and codes don’t suggest anywhere that ‘neglect’ or ‘delay’ is an ‘OK way’ to manage a pipeline—so,don’t rewrite regulations—rewrite how Boards should be structured for hazardous infrastructure systems!

Can NEB regulations deal with this matter—or are our LAW MAKERS required to make appropriate s changes as to how Boards are structured?

The old cliches about Responsibility,Accountability, and Consequences when applied judiciously will ALWAYS work best..we all need to follow those simple rules—behave or you get a short term TIMEOUT for wee kids—or for bigger ‘BOARD’ boys and girls its TOTAL TIMEOUT !