Ontario safety authority only started tracking residential inspections in January

A resident living near the site of massive Sunrise Propane gas explosions 10 years ago is concerned the body that regulates and inspects gas pipelines and their safety hasn't been keepingtrack ofits inspections until January this year.

"They told me they don't have records.None of it makes sense. All of this has to do with safety," said Jeff Green.

A decade after the fiery blasts, which prompted a number of changes to the way propane is handled to ensure safety, there's a lack of transparency withthe Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) processes, Greentold CBCToronto.

"Why is it so difficult to provide a member of the public information?" he wondered.

Explosive history

The property Greenasked to be inspectedis just eight houses from the site where the explosions ripped through Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases on Aug. 10, 2008. The explosion and fire killed an employee, a firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack while battling the massive fire that followed and directors of the company were fined millions of dollars.

GreenshowedCBCToronto a series of letters from theTSSAresponding to his requests for information about an inspection of a metal guard protecting the gas meter at his mother's home near Wilson Avenue andDufferinStreet.

The guard was re-installed byEnbridgelast summer after the gas company replaced a portion of the line. Greenrequested an inspection by theTSSAto make sure the work was properly done.

"Eventually they wrote back and they said, 'We have no records of any inspection at the house where you live.' So nothing made sense," he said.

Documents obtained by CBCToronto show aTSSApublic information coordinator wrote, "We have not had any luck in locating a report for that property."

The authority is not government-run but is delegated by the province to oversee safety regulations.

In Green's correspondence there's also a letter to himfrom the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.

In it, NathanFahey, manager, technical services unit said "the ministry has been in discussions with theTSSAaboutenhancing their documentation processes."

Faheywrote that as of January 2018, "all residential inspections now include a record of inspection and an appropriate fee will be charged where necessary," leading Greento wonder why this wasn't done before given the authority's safety mandate.

After the explosion, Greensaid, the TSSA ordered a barrier be installed around the gas meter outside the house, which is mounted about a metre from the ground on the brick and close to the neighbour's driveway.

In June 2017, when Enbridge replaced a portion of the gas line, the guard was removed and not replaced.

"I ask for a guard to be put back in place, citing safety and given it was installed with reason by TSSA," he said.

Enbridge then installed two posts, which Greensaid were not as safe.

He lobbied the gas company to put inguards similar to the originals.

A decade after the propane explosion, Greenadmittedhe's much more vigilantabout safety protocols, which is in part why he requested a TSSAinspection report.

Transparency and oversight

Green's experience with the TSSA raisesbroader questions about the authority, said Mark Winfield, an environmental studies professor atYork University.

Winfield has written extensively about theTSSA, calling for procedural change. It should be keeping records accessible to the public, he said.

"If it walks like a governmental duck, and quacks like a governmental duck and exercises the powers of a governmental duck, shouldn't it be part of the state? Shouldn't it be subject to the same rules as a government agency exercising those same powers?" he asked.

He said it's impossible to go through a day in Ontario without encountering something regulated by theTSSA, such as elevators, gas stations, boilers and pressure vessels.

"You don't even realize it," he said, "but if they don't work properly, they can cause serious injuries and even death."

The TSSAresponse

The TSSA declined to be interviewed but in an email, TSSA spokesperson Steve Robinson confirmed the TSSA inspected the installation of the guardsat the request of the resident although usually it doesn't inspect private properties.

Robinson said the TSSA inspector was satisfied the Enbridge technician's work was done to the CSA Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems code though "no formal inspection report was completed for this visit."

The authority considered the matter closed and told CBC Torontoit still does.

That confusesGreen.

"To this day I have questions about whether or not an inspection was done. Why wouldn't they be transparent and share a report with the public?"