A member of Saint John's emergency measures advisory committee claims Emera Brunswick Pipeline is not following federal rules around plans to deal with a pipeline rupture or explosion.

Horst Saurteig, a retired engineer, filed a letter with the city and will raise the issue at a Saint John council meeting on Monday.

Saurteig said he believes Emera Brunswick Pipeline's emergency response plans are not adequate for a real natural gas emergency.

Among other things he said the system for alerting the public about a disaster includes sending emails, recorded phone messages and notifications to radio stations that are not staffed evenings and weekends.

He also said he believes emergency exercises that have been conducted fall short in that they respond to a gas leak and a gas plume but not a fire.

Saurteig will raise his concerns at the Monday council meeting and he will ask the local politicians to become involved.

"You need a plan and you need this documented and everybody has to sign on the dotted line," he said.

Saurteig said he believes sirens are the only workable way to alert the public to a disaster.

Saurteig’s concerns have been dismissed by the National Energy Board in the past as well as by Saint John Fire Chief Kevin Clifford, who is also the director of the city’s Emergency Measures Organization.

Dina Bartolacci Seely, a spokesperson for Emera Brunswick Pipeline, said the company takes safety seriously and its emergency plans are in "full compliance" with federal regulations.

"Brunswick Pipeline takes safety responsibilities extremely seriously," she said.

"We're in constant contact with the regulator — the National Energy Board — and we're in full compliance with emergency response and safety requirements."

The 145-kilometre, 76.2-centimetre-diameter Brunswick Pipeline delivers natural gas from the Irving Oil-Repsol LNG terminal at Mispec Point to the U.S.-Canada border near St. Stephen, where it connects with the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline.