The Sundre Crossover pipeline project proposed by Nova Gas Transmission Ltd., a subsidiary of TransCanada, remained as of last week under the review of a hearing panel.
The application was deemed complete in April, but at least one of the landowners who wrote in during the comment process requested an oral component, Darin Barter, National Energy Board spokesperson, told the Round Up last week.
"As a result, the hearing panel is considering this request, and a decision is expected in the near future. Should the panel decide that an oral component to the hearing will take place, the process would be extended," he said.
"We expect that this decision will be made in less than one month."
In light of concerns expressed by some landowners, 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.
When the NEB hears from landowners or anyone who could be affected by a proposed project, the board can pause the process for further investigation, Sarah Kiley, an NEB spokesperson had said previously.
"What we've done in this case is to initiate a review," she had told the Round Up.
Lance Greer, a Bergen-area landowner who has expressed concerns, previously told the Round Up that while he is not opposed to the pipeline, he was not satisfied by the consultation process nor the compensation offered.
The proposed project calls for a 21-kilometre stretch of a 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.
Documents detailing the company's application process as well as the concerns submitted by landowners are publicly available on the independent federal regulatory agency's website, and can be found by doing an Internet search for "NEB Sundre Crossover."
Meanwhile, the company intends to continue pursuing the project.
"We are waiting to find out what the next steps in the Sundre Crossover review will be," Doris Kaufmann Woodcock, TransCanada senior communications advisor, told the Round Up by email last week.
"However, I can tell you that we continue to move forward with our plans and are working with landowners to address their outstanding questions. We look forward to hearing from the NEB once they have determined how the review for this project will be completed."
