Resumen del autor, extraído del trabajo. The Canadian National Energy Board is the government regulatory agency responsible for safety, environmental and economic regulation of federal pipelines in Canada. This includes over 40,000 kilometres of large interprovincial and international gas and oil transmission pipelines including some of the largest systems in the world. The federal pipeline system started in the 1950s and progressively expanded as markets developed. Now the systems are maturing and greater emphasis is being placed on ensuring the ongoing integrity of these systems. Recognizing the diversity of these systems the NEB has moved towards goal-oriented regulations with emphasis on auditing and management systems to ensure companies meet the challenge. The NEB’s revised Onshore Pipeline Regulations, 1999 require pipelines to have an integrity management program which identifies and address the unique risks of the systems. The Board encourages ongoing dialogue with the public on safety issues and works with the industry to promote the use of developing technologies such as risk assessment and in-line inspection. The Board’s program has contributed to a stable incident rate in spite of the continual aging of the pipeline systems.