Northern Gateway pipeline project to undergo joint review process

At least one Alberta First Nation will be applying for intervener status as the Northern Gateway Project joint review process moves forward.   

The Alexander First Nation will be making that application. The proposed pipeline runs through 1,900 acres of land the band is due under the 1998 Treaty Land Entitlement Settlement. The land is located near Fox Creek and in Sturgeon County.

But Alexander First Nation is not the only First Nation opposed to the Enbridge development which would see the construction of two 1,170-km long pipelines from Bruderheim, near Edmonton, to Kitimat, British Columbia, and the construction and operation of the Kitimat Marine Terminal. The $5.5 billion Northern Gateway project would carry about 525,000 barrels of oilsands crude per day to the Kitimat terminal to be loaded on tankers destined for the Asian market. The second pipeline would be used to import condensate, a natural gas byproduct used for thinning petroleum products for transport by pipeline.

Led by the Yinka Dene Alliance, the opposing First Nations that have banded together number three others from Alberta, four in B.C. and one in Manitoba. Together, five First Nations hold 25 per cent of the proposed pipeline route in northern B.C. First Nation leaders and environmental groups have opposed the Northern Gateway project since 2000. They are adamant that the threat of the disastrous effects of oil spills on traditional lands or in the ocean outweighs any benefit.

In May, members of the alliance marched in protest to Enbridge’s Calgary headquarters where the company was holding its annual general meeting.

Their message was loud and clear, said Paul Stanway, spokesman for Enbridge. But that doesn’t mean the company will shelve its project.

“Enbridge has been consulting with Aboriginal communities for several years, and will continue to do so in order to understand Aboriginal interests so that we can avoid or minimize potential impacts. We’ll continue listening and working through the issues,” said Stanway.
To help the process along, Enbridge is offering monetary pay-out.

“The 10 per cent equity proposal Enbridge is making to First Nations is groundbreaking and presents a real opportunity for Aboriginal communities to participate as partners,” said Stanway.

But before Enbridge can undertake construction, the company has been ordered by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the National Energy Board to hold hearings. The joint review process is the most rigorous environmental review possible under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. It is only when a project may cause significant adverse environmental effects or there is a high degree of public concern that a project is referred to a joint review panel process.

In June, the Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel held public information sessions in the 15 municipalities along the proposed pipeline route to explain how the review process will work.

 The process is designed to gather information from all viewpoints. There are four participation options: letter of comment, oral statement, intervener status or government participant. A framework is set out for how the federal government will rely on the joint review panel to fulfill its legal duty to consult Aboriginal groups.
   
The joint review panel will assess the potential environmental effects of the project and determine if the project is in the Canadian public interest.

Following the hearings in January and June 2012, the panel’s environmental assessment report will be submitted to the Minister of Environment for government response. The government response will be part of the record the panel uses to make its final decision.