[NOTE: Enbridge recently saw fit to cancel over a hundred integrity digs, citing that they were no longer necessary. for the complete list of cancelled digs, see this document.]
An integrity dig is a visual inspection of a defect detected by an inline/computer and deemed important enough to inspect in person. The area will be marked out & excavated with earth movers and then by hydro vac. The anti-corrosion coating will be sanded off and the defect located & repaired. The pipe will then be re-coated, re-buried and the area re-seeded if necessary. If the anti-corrosion coating is compromised before re-burying, it will have to be re-coated. the process can take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks and work is not usually done during overnight hours.
Individual points of resistant within a dig vary from pulling pegs to monkeywrenching to work disruptions.
It’s not always necessary to stop pumping oil through the line for these types of repairs.
Enbridge has since filed 322 notices to repair cracks in line 9, just between july and december 2013, all of which – at last check, were scheduled for repair between January 2014 and July 2014.
You can find more info in each individual filing, including the kilometre post [KP] and mile post [MP] of where each dig/repair will take place. If you’re curious about how close these repairs are to you, you can check each KP/MP filing against the detailed Enbridge Line 9 project maps.
to get an idea of locations:
[so-called] north westover pumping station – KP 2997
Finch Ave. & 400 [in so-called toronto] – KP 3069
[so-called] Kingston – KP 3324
[so-called] Montreal Terminal – KP 3634
9a Detailed Project Map
[PDF – NEB site]
9b Detailed Project Map
[PDF – NEB site]
Line 9 Integrity Digs
[NEB site: use “search” filter to narrow results. remember government sites log IP & metadata]
https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll?func=ll&objId=901165&objAction=browse&viewType=1
