MINUTES OF THE THIRD GAS TECHNICAL COUNCIL MEETING OF 2015 DATE:

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1 MINUTES OF THE THIRD GAS TECHNICAL COUNCIL MEETING OF 2015 DATE: April 23, 2015 TIME: LOCATION: PRESENT: 9:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. Radisson Edmonton South, Chair Bradley Gaida (arrived at 9:50 a.m.) Dave Schroeder, Vice Chair Sidney Manning, AMA, Chief Gas Administrator Claude Valliere, AMA Harry Li, AMA, Director of Codes and Standards Mechanical Michelle Plaizier, Safety Codes Council ABSENT: RECORDER: Mel Hess Robin Montgomery Sandi Orr 2015 MEETINGS: May 28; September 24; November 5

2 A. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 9:00 a.m. B. Adoption of Agenda The agenda was amended as follows: E Working Group Third Party Certification change to [Manning / Turgeon] E Appointment of Simon Jolly for a term until Jan. 31, 2018 Dave Schroeder / moved to adopt the agenda, as amended; CARRIED C. Adoption of Minutes / moved to adopt the minutes of the March 5, 2015 meeting, as circulated; CARRIED D. Business Arising from the Minutes E Working Group Third Party Certification The Chief Gas Administrator reported that the timeline for the review of the Variance has escalated. The Working Group Chair will be asked to have a meeting to review this and bring forward recommendations at the next meeting as that will be the last opportunity for balloting any revisions before the Variance expires on July 1, If this is not completed, the Variance will be reissued on July 1, 2015 without changes. A brief overview of the Variance was provided. Potentially there is an opportunity to narrow the scope of the equipment that would apply to this Variance. It was questioned and clarified that the Variance is working. The Variance would be too broad to include in Regulation. This provides an alternate pathway for compliance and retiring the Variance at the current time would put a great burden on industry. But eventually, the Variance does need to expire. It was suggested that if there were to be changes, the changes need to be meaningful. If the recommendation is for no changes, endorsement will still be requested including the timeline for the new expiry date. A brief discussion was held regarding the upcoming changes to CSA B Legacy Equipment Management Plan - STANDATA There was nothing new to report. E b) CSA-Z Liquefied natural gas (LNG) Production, storage and handling It was reported a meeting is scheduled with the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Subcouncil Chair the first week of May Correspondence from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) was shown on screen that confirms that AER will now be regulating LNG plants. The Boilers and Pressure Vessels MINUTES: Gas Technical Council Meeting April 23, 2015 Page 2 of 9

3 discipline will still play a role and it was suggested to the Chair that the meeting should continue to clarify roles. E Continuing Education for SCOs Further stakeholder input is being gathered and there was nothing further to report. E Safe Temporary Heat Education Program It was reported that excellent feedback has been received on the program and lots of requests for the packages have been received. A broader launch will take place again in the fall. A few typos were pointed out. and will contact Nicola Anderson to provide further feedback. [Unser / Mandin] E Draft Regulation It was reported that the Safety Code Act Amendments have been adopted. To expedite the code adoption process, one of the changes includes automatic adoption of codes within one year of publication. The sub-council s role in reviewing the codes and standards will not change. Members still need to review these to determine if appropriate for adoption for use in Alberta. In order to adopt codes automatically, there is a need to no longer include Alberta amendments in the regulation. The goal is for harmonization of all codes and justification will be required for any Alberta-specific requirements. This will create additional tasks for the working groups. If there are still Alberta-specific concerns, a mechanism will still be available provided it is defensible. Opportunities for participation at the national level will be strongly encouraged to influence changes to national codes and standards. The following items remained outstanding: The Draft Regulation will be included in each of the working group folders. [Manning] It was reported that a separate folder will be created for each working group. These folders will be available on the left hand side of the Gas portal page. [Paches / Stroud] The Working Group Guideline Document will be added to each of the Working Group folders. [Paches] E Code Review Process for Working Groups A report was provided by each of the workings groups. STANDARD CSA-B Natural gas and propane installation code WORKING GROUP MEMBERS (Chair) REPORT / CURRENT TASKS It was questioned whether there is any historical data as to the reasons for the Alberta-specific requirements. MINUTES: Gas Technical Council Meeting April 23, 2015 Page 3 of 9

4 CSA-B Propane storage and handling code CSA-B Code for the field approval of fuelrelated components on appliances and equipment CSA-B Installation code for propane fuel systems and tanks on highway vehicles CSA-B Natural gas fuelling stations installation code CSA-B Natural gas for vehicles installation code CSA-Z or 15 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) Production, storage, and handling Third-party Certification Dell Wickstrom (AMA Perry Wager) Brad Diggens It was questioned whether there is any historical data as to the reasons for the Alberta-specific requirements. The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference WG Chair to contact Dell Wickstrom to determine continued interest. No 3-column comparison between 2010 and 2015 changes, a contractor is working on getting this thirdcolumn document developed The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference will have it in the next few weeks Available documents are in April 2015 Meeting Folder and will be transferred to the WG Folder when created The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference will have it in the next few weeks Available documents are in April 2015 Meeting Folder and will be transferred to the WG Folder when created The Working Group to identify Chair and develop a Terms of Reference. The Working Group to contact Brad Diggens to determine continued interest. Develop a Terms of Reference Any assistance from the working groups in the developing and revising of the threecolumn documents would be greatly appreciated as these are shared with industry and educational institutes. [All] MINUTES: Gas Technical Council Meeting April 23, 2015 Page 4 of 9

5 E Propane Tank Relief Valve Replacement A presentation was shown on screen and highlights included: When and why tanks are evacuated Evacuation options showed all three valve options and the levels of safety associated with these when replacing valves Bottom-mount valves present the greatest safety risks when removing the cap, the internal valve does not shut off as designed and liquid burns can occur to the arms and face Using the rollers minimizes escaping gas and no liquid escapes, the rollers are easy to install and the tank can be controlled by one person Standard Operating Procedures and engineered drawings were circulated (Handouts #1 and #2). In order to clarify that this is an acceptable and safe practice the CPA would like the following: SCC or AMA to provide a pathway that would permit the use of rollers for inverting propane tanks when they are serviced or repaired It was clarified by the Chief Gas Administrator that it would be up to the authority having jurisdiction to accept these practices. It was also noted that there is nothing in the code that would prohibit the work to be done in this manner. It was noted that the sub-council s role is not to approve operating procedures. However, the sub-council members recognized that this was definitely a safer practice and recommended that industry work with the local authority and if there are any issues to discuss this further with the Chief Gas Administrator. [Austin] E Fuel Gas Pressure Piping in Plants It was reported that this is still being reviewed with the Boilers and Pressure Vessels sub-council. A brief overview was provided on some of the proposed changes relative to the owner-user program. E Joint Plumbing and Gas Working Group 6-storey Combustible Construction There was nothing to report. [Turgeon] E. New Business E Appointment of Simon Jolly for a term until Jan. 31, 2018 The nomination was included with the agenda package and reviewed. / moved to recommend to the Council Board of Directors the appointment of Simon Jolly to the Gas Sub-council for a term until January 31, 2018 representing the Mechanical Contractors industry sector, effective immediately; CARRIED MINUTES: Gas Technical Council Meeting April 23, 2015 Page 5 of 9

6 F. a) Action Items All action items were completed or included on the agenda. b) Report from Chair Technical Coordinating Committee Update There was nothing to report. G. Standing Agenda Items There were no Standing Agenda Items. H. Next Meeting The 2015 meeting schedule was reconfirmed as follows: Thursday, May 28, 2015 (will be s last meeting) Thursday, September 24, 2015 Thursday, November 5, 2015 / moved the meeting be adjourned; CARRIED The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m. MINUTES: Gas Technical Council Meeting April 23, 2015 Page 6 of 9

7 -- ACTION ITEMS E Safe Temporary Heat Education Program A few typos were pointed out. and will contact Nicola Anderson to provide further feedback. [Unser / Mandin] E Draft Regulation The Draft Regulation will be included in each of the working group folders. [Manning] It was reported that a separate folder will be created for each working group. These folders will be available on the left hand side of the Gas portal page. [Paches / Stroud] The Working Group Guideline Document will be added to each of the Working Group folders. [Paches] E Code Review Process for Working Groups A report was provided by each of the workings groups. The Chief Gas Administrator will investigate to see if there is any historical data as to the reasons for the Alberta-specific requirements for CSA-B and CSA-B [Manning] CSA-B Working Group to develop Terms of Reference. [Quiring] CSA-B Working Group Chair to contact Dell Wickstrom to determine continued interest. [Quiring] CSA-B Working Group to develop Terms of Reference. CSA-B Working Group to develop Terms of Reference. CSA-B Working Group to develop Terms of Reference. [Mandin] [Carter] [Carter] CSA-Z or 15 Working Group to identify Chair and develop Terms of Reference. [Quiring / Aspen / Carter / Lesage] Third-party Certification Working Group to develop Terms of Reference. [Turgeon] Any assistance from the working groups in the developing and revising of the three-column documents would be greatly appreciated as these are shared with industry and educational institutes. [All] E Propane Tank Relief Valve Replacement It was noted that the sub-council s role is not to approve operating procedures. However, the sub-council members recognized that this was definitely a safer practice and recommended that industry work with the local authority and if there are any issues to discuss this further with the Chief Gas Administrator. [Austin] MINUTES: Gas Technical Council Meeting April 23, 2015 Page 7 of 9

8 -- MOTIONS B. Adoption of Agenda Dave Schroeder / moved to adopt the agenda, as amended; CARRIED C. Adoption of Minutes / moved to adopt the minutes of the March 5, 2015 meeting, as circulated; CARRIED E Appointment of Simon Jolly for a term until Jan. 31, 2018 / moved to recommend to the Council Board of Directors the appointment of Simon Jolly to the Gas Sub-council for a term until January 31, 2018 representing the Mechanical Contractors industry sector, effective immediately; CARRIED H. Next Meeting / moved the meeting be adjourned; CARRIED MINUTES: Gas Technical Council Meeting April 23, 2015 Page 8 of 9

9 WORKING GROUPS STANDARD CSA-B Natural gas and propane installation code CSA-B Propane storage and handling code CSA-B Code for the field approval of fuel-related components on appliances and equipment CSA-B Installation code for propane fuel systems and tanks on highway vehicles CSA-B Natural gas fuelling stations installation code CSA-B Natural gas for vehicles installation code CSA-Z or 15 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) Production, storage, and handling Third-party Certification WORKING GROUP MEMBERS (Chair) Dell Wickstrom (AMA Perry Wager) Brad Diggens REPORT / CURRENT TASKS It was questioned whether there is any historical data as to the reasons for the Alberta-specific requirements. It was questioned whether there is any historical data as to the reasons for the Alberta-specific requirements. The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference WG Chair to contact Dell Wickstrom to determine continued interest. No 3-column comparison between 2010 and 2015 changes, a contractor is working on getting this third-column document developed The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference will have it in the next few works Available documents are in April 2015 Meeting Folder and will be transferred to the WG Folder when created The Working Group to develop a Terms of Reference will have it in the next few works Available documents are in April 2015 Meeting Folder and will be transferred to the WG Folder when created The Working Group to identify Chair and develop a Terms of Reference. The Working Group to contact Brad Diggens to determine continued interest. Develop a Terms of Reference CONTACT LIST: Working Group Member Phone [Cell] [ ] glen@ept488.ca haustin@calgasinc.com [ ] keith.carter@atcogas.com Bradley Gaida bradg@yyc.com nlesage@agutl.com marcel@mutualpropane.ab.ca verneq.specialprojects@engineeredair.com Dave Schroeder [ ] dschroeder@vetssheetmetal.com triplew@telusplanet.net x8453 [ ] mike.turek@airdrie.ca denist@nait.ca lawrence.unser@lethbridge.ca Sidney Manning, AMA sidney.manning@gov.ab.ca