A National Energy Board panel has following an oral hearing given the Sundre Crossover Pipeline project the green light.
"The NEB has decided to approve the Sundre Crossover Project, subject to 14 conditions,” Sarah Kiley, NEB spokesperson, recently informed the Round Up by email just before the new year.
"For this project, the board decided to release a letter decision and the full reasons behind their decision will be released later, likely in a month or two.”
The project proposed by NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd., a TransCanada subsidiary, calls for a 21-kilometre stretch of natural gas pipeline that will deliver volumes from two existing pipelines. The plan is essentially to connect the Edson main line located northeast of Sundre and to deliver that gas onto the western Alberta main line system just south of the municipality.
After several landowners and stakeholders previously expressed concerns, the NEB earlier this summer struck a three-member panel to look into claims the project had been improperly rushed through without sufficient consultation and engagement with landowners whose properties stand to be affected by the large 42-inch pipeline.
The conditions outlined by the panel include but are not limited to the following procedures that NGTL will be expected to adhere to:
Implement or cause to be implemented all of the policies, practices, programs, mitigation measures, recommendations, procedures and its commitments for the protection of the environment included in or referred to in its application or in its related submissions.
File with the board, prior to commencement of construction, a summary of survey results for outstanding baseline surveys including but not limited to acoustic amphibian surveys, yellow rail and common nighthawk surveys, and bat roosting habitat assessments.
Maintain records of the company’s consultations with potentially affected groups that include, but are not limited to: a description of consultations, including the consultation methods, dates, and a summary of any issues or concerns raised by potentially affected parties; a summary of actions that NGTL has undertaken to address or respond to each of the issues or concerns raised by potentially affected parties, or a rationale for why no actions were taken. The term "potentially affected groups” includes not only landowners, but also other parties that have been identified as potentially affected by the project, such as municipalities, aboriginal groups, and potentially affected nearby residents.
All publicly available documents pertaining to the hearing process, including a recording of the oral hearing held in Calgary in December, are available online by searching "NEB Sundre Crossover Pipeline.”
