Northwest Mutual Assistance Agreement (NWMAA)

If you need more information, please contact Beverly Woolf.

Purpose:
Each signatory to this Agreement is an entity that utilizes, operates or controls natural gas transportation and/or storage facilities in the Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho). Each entity participating in this agreement has a responsibility or mandate to exercise due diligence in its operations and planning to be able to provide and maintain firm service during emergency condition(s) and to restore normal service to its customers as quickly as possible after such events occur; and all participants have a vested interest in maintaining a secure, reliable regional natural gas system.

There is no membership (i.e., signatory) limitation to this Agreement and membership is voluntary. The emergency responses which members are asked to provide to other members needing assistance are emergency supply and/or emergency service.

In the event of a major emergency in the Pacific Northwest, it is expected that many or all parties who are signatories to this Agreement could be directly involved in providing assistance. With the combined assistance of these parties, it is expected that the impact and duration of an emergency condition to affected regional markets could be minimized.

This Agreement is intended to define the terms and conditions for cooperation and/or assistance between the parties in an emergency if such aid is volunteered. Another objective is to maintain and improve communication linkages between the Members as they pertain to emergency planning and incident response. However, it does not impose any obligation whatsoever on the parties to provide or continue cooperation, aid or assistance.