General Contractor Fined $80,000 For Not Reporting Puncture of Gas Line

A general contractor was hired to replace a water and sewer line. Another company had identified and marked the location of utilities, including the site of a two-inch gas mainline. A worker using an excavator to remove an old underground sewage concrete catch basin punctured the gas line. The contractor notified Enbridge Gas, which dispatched repair crews and notified emergency personnel. The local fire department began monitoring gas levels in the area and a local evacuation was executed as a precautionary measure. Enbridge Gas notified the MOE almost two hours after the incident occurred, but the contractor never reported it. As a result, the contractor was convicted of two environmental offences and fined $80,000 [Dalcon Enterprises Ltd., Gov. News Release, Jan. 26, 2016].