June 2006 ISSUE
Professional practice & Ethics Corner
APEGGA members with professional practice or ethics questions are welcome to send them to Ray Chopiuk, P.Eng., Director, Professional Practice, APEGGA, 1500 Scotia One, 10060 Jasper AVE NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 4A2; fax 780-426-1877; e-mail rchopiuk@apega.ca.
Q We are currently doing the engineering design
for a pipeline that begins in Alberta and crosses into British Columbia. For
the drawings in B.C., do we need to have professional engineers’ stamps
from both Alberta and B.C. or just B.C.?
A In Alberta, pipelines are regulated under the
Pipelines Act and its Pipelines Regulation. The exclusive scope of practice provision
in the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act (which APEGGA
administers) does not apply to someone who, in accordance with the Pipelines
Act or the Pipelines Regulation, is engaged in any undertaking or activity required
under the pipelines legislation.
Consequently, the requirement in the EGGP Act for the involvement of a professional engineer who is registered in Alberta does not apply. APEGGA does not administer either the act or the regulation that pertains to pipelines, so it is not in a position to advise you of the requirements for engineering involvement from that perspective.
However, if a professional engineer who is registered and practicing in Alberta does undertake the design of the pipeline, the EGGP Act and its General Regulation require the engineer to stamp the design that the engineer prepares or that is prepared under the engineer’s immediate and direct control. The same applies for those designs that someone else prepared but the engineer is willing to accept professional responsibility for after having reviewed them thoroughly.
As well, a permit holder (a corporate entity registered with APEGGA) that is practicing in Alberta is required to apply its permit number to all final documents of a professional nature (designs) that its engineers prepare or that are prepared under its engineers’ immediate and direct control. The same applies for those designs that someone else prepared, which the permit holder’s engineers are willing to accept professional responsibility for after having reviewed them thoroughly.
Strictly speaking, the requirements above apply to all engineering practiced in Alberta, regardless of where that engineering is applied. Having said that, I do not know of any recent instances where an Alberta engineer or permit holder has been challenged for not meeting those requirements when the engineering that they performed was for a wholly out-of-province project and where stamps of engineers registered in the other jurisdiction were required by that jurisdiction.
You could check with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia at www.apeg.bc.ca about any required involvement of engineers registered in B.C.
QWe are a consulting firm that has been asked to take over an ongoing project from another consultant. Although we are evaluating the business and financial aspects of the potential assignment, we wondered, does APEGGA have any requirements that we need to meet if we took on the work?
AThere are no specific regulatory requirements that would prevent you from taking on the assignment. APEGGA’s Practice Standards Committee considered just such a question several years ago. The committee suggested that, as a cautionary measure, the second consultant should obtain written confirmation from the client that a contract for professional services between the client and the previous consultant no longer exists. The move would assist the second consultant in deflecting possible accusations of unethical behaviour.
Invitation to Comment
Three years ago, APEGGA’s Practice Standards Committee published the Practice Standard for Evaluation of Oil and Gas Reserves for Public Disclosure v1.0, April 2003. Subsequent developments require that the document be revised.
APEGGA members are invited to submit any comments for the committee’s consideration. The practice standard is available on APEGGA’s web site at www.apega.ca/pdf/Guidelines/31.pdf.
Please direct your comments to the committee by June 30, 2006, in care
of:
Ray Chopiuk,
P.Eng., Director, Professional Practice
E-mail: rchopiuk@apega.ca Fax:
780-426-1877