LandKeepers News Archive
Feds Agree to Conduct Environmental Assessment on Pipeline
December 23 2009 | News Articles | Kitimat Northern Sentinel
By Cameron Orr
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project and the federal government signed an agreement this month to conduct the environmental assessment of the proposed pipeline. Enbridge Northern Gateway vice-president Steve Greenaway said the company has been working toward the joint review process for two years. “The release of the joint review agreement is a very significant and positive step forward,” Greenaway said.
“We really think that our project can stand up to that level of scrutiny. It provides a very thorough and comprehensive review of the project.”
Among the factors that will be considered during the joint review are the environmental effects of the project – which includes possible malfunctions or accidents – and the significance of those events. Also considered were measures that are “technically and economically feasible and that would mitigate any significant adverse environmental effects of the project.” Even the purpose of the project is up for consideration, along with alternative means of carrying out the project. The company is expecting to file its review documentation in the first quarter of 2010, Greenaway said.
“I expect there will be extensive regulatory hearings along the pipeline corridor in late 2010 and early 2011,” he said. “If approved, and if we were to achieve the strong commercial interest in the project which we believe we will, the earliest we could begin construction would be 2013.”
The proposed 1,170 km twin pipeline would run from Kitimat to Strathcona County, Alta. just outside Edmonton. It would follow Highway 37 north from Kitimat before veering east passing just north of Burns Lake. Enbridge estimates the multi-billion project would generate 4,000 jobs during the construction phase.
Greenaway said the joint review process will examine First Nations rights, economic impact, environmental concerns and marine concerns. In a recent conference call with reporters, area MP Nathan Cullen said that from his perspective, the idea of the Enbridge project is a fundamental test. “The idea is to create relatively few jobs with relatively high risk,” he said. “We don’t have a tolerance for any major spills.”
“When you entertain a project like this, you have to consider the concept of either the pipeline or a tanker spilling a lot of oil,” he said. “In good conscience, its hard for me with the evidence I’ve seen so far from other projects around the world that this thing can be done with 100 per cent certainty.”
Karen Campbell, staff counsel with the Pembina Institute’s B.C. Energy Solutions program, said that development of the tar sands are being excluded from this assessment terms of reference. “The proposed [Gateway] project would result in a 30 per cent increase in average daily oil sands output, major environmental consequences,” she said. “But the environmental assessment of the project will ignore these impacts.” She said that production related to this pipeline would mean an estimated 6.5 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
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