Irving Oil can resume operations of a butane pipeline involved a leak last week on the east side of Saint John.
The Energy and Utilities board has given approval to the company and a release says the pipeline may be operational today.
Following the leak, the board informed Irving Oil that it could not resume the operation until it could be shown the pipeline could be operated safely.
A plan approved by the EUB involved the installation of a network of continuous leak detection monitors along the length of the pipeline system.
Should anything happen again, monitors will notify the company’s control centre right away.
The board also ordered testing of the pipeline to make sure it was thick enough and wasn’t corroded. Those tests were completed and all readings exceeded the standards required.
The leak was noticed on January 8th and a preliminary investigation suggests the leak was the result of a crack related to cold weather.
Officials are still looking into the cause of the leak.
The incident forced the evacuation of 84 people from 34 homes living nearby who had to stay in a hotel for several days.
