Alberta pipeline right-of-way inspection requirements

In Alberta, the pipeline licensee is responsible for integrity. The Pipeline Act, the Pipeline Rules and CSA Z662 require a documented Integrity Management Program, and the AER can ask to see it and its records at any time. APS Drone Services flies the right-of-way patrol and delivers the records. Your program decides how often each segment is patrolled and what happens with each finding, and you remain the accountable licensee.

What the rules require today

Section 15 of the Pipeline Rules requires every licensee to develop and implement a documented Integrity Management Program as described in Annex N of CSA Z662, and section 18 makes CSA Z662 the minimum standard for operation and maintenance. CSA Z662 requires operators to patrol their rights-of-way periodically, with particular attention to:

Construction, dredging and other activity by third parties, authorized or not
Erosion, scour and ice effects
Soil slides, subsidence and seismic activity
Loss of cover
Evidence of leaks

The licensee sets the patrol frequency, considering operating pressure, pipe size, population density, service fluid, terrain, weather, land use and failure history, and must be able to show that rationale to the AER on request. Directive 077 supplements the Pipeline Rules, but its surveillance requirements apply to temporary surface pipelines for water, not permanent lines.

What changed on November 15, 2023

The previous Pipeline Rules (AR 91/2005) set fixed minimums: at least one right-of-way inspection a year, and monthly, every-two-weeks or weekly patrols for some class locations, high vapour pressure products and sour gas lines. The current Pipeline Rules (AR 125/2023) repealed those intervals and rely on CSA Z662 and each licensee’s program instead.

The old intervals are still worth knowing. They remain a sensible benchmark when you review your own frequencies, and the AER still enforces them for earlier years. In June 2026 it fined a licensee more than $437,000 over an oil emulsion leak that was visible in satellite imagery long before a land occupant found it. The AER also found that the licensee had skipped its 2022 annual ROW inspection, and the cleanup removed more than 61,000 tonnes of soil.

Water crossings

CSA Z662 calls for special attention to pipeline crossings, and underwater crossings must be inspected periodically for adequate cover, accumulated debris and other conditions that affect their safety. The AER enforces this: in 2024 it cited a licensee for not completing a ground-level inspection of a watercourse crossing. A release at a crossing reaches water quickly, which makes these segments a common place to start a more frequent patrol schedule.

A drone patrol shows bank erosion, exposed pipe, debris and sheen from above. Whether it replaces a ground-level crossing inspection depends on what your program requires.

Leak detection programs

The AER requires each licensee to keep an effective leak detection program based on its own risks, and notes that such a program may include aerial or ground surveillance of the right-of-way using visual detection, gas detection, thermographic surveys or vegetation surveys. APS patrols provide the visual and vegetation part from high-resolution video. Video shows what a leak does to the surface, such as staining, dead vegetation or sheen, so it works alongside your pressure and volume monitoring rather than replacing it.

If a patrol finds a leak

Every leak, break or contact damage on an AER-licensed pipeline must be reported to the AER immediately, whatever its size, by phone to the Energy and Environmental Emergency 24-Hour Response Line (1-800-222-6514). The licensee must also start containment right away.

We review the video as soon as each flight lands and contact your designated person immediately after the flight if we see a possible leak, with screenshots of what we saw and where. You make the call to the AER; our footage supports that report and any written follow-up the AER requests.

Ground disturbance and the controlled area

The controlled area is 30 m on each side of the pipe centreline, or to the edge of the right-of-way if that is wider. Anyone planning ground disturbance there has to request locates through Utility Safety Partners, and work on the right-of-way itself needs approval. Unplanned digging, grading or construction in the controlled area is one of the main things a patrol looks for.

What a drone patrol covers, and what it doesn’t replace

A drone patrol can be the right-of-way inspection method your Integrity Management Program specifies:

Standing patrols of the highest-risk segments in your inventory, such as older pipe, internally uncoated steel and water crossings
A visual record of each segment between your scheduled integrity work, such as corrosion monitoring, cathodic protection surveys and pigging
A quick look at a suspected leak, as soon as daylight, weather and airspace allow

It does not replace corrosion monitoring, cathodic protection surveys, in-line inspection, pressure testing, depth-of-cover surveys or engineering assessments. To see which segments to fly first, use the Alberta risk assessment tool.

Records you receive

After each patrol you receive all of the video footage, screenshots, and a map confirming which sections were flown. Together they show your integrity team, and the AER if it asks, that each segment was patrolled and what it looked like on the day. The Pipeline Rules require licensees to keep pipeline records under CSA Z662 and provide them to the AER on request.

British Columbia and Saskatchewan

In British Columbia, the BC Energy Regulator requires an integrity management program under CSA Z662 Annex N and a damage prevention program, and its guidance lists drone patrols as one surveillance option. In Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Energy and Resources applies the Saskatchewan Pipelines Code (Directive PNG034), which relies on CSA Z662 for right-of-way inspection. Reporting rules differ by province, and the licensee reports under the rules where the pipe is.

For how flights are run, see pipeline inspection and leak detection. Common questions are on the FAQ.

Sources

Last reviewed September 2026. This page summarizes public requirements for general information; it is not legal or engineering advice.

If you want drone patrols that fit your Alberta integrity program, request a quote.