Sun, February 24, 2008
Clipper pipeline project approved
But Canadian regulator attaches conditions
By LAUREN KRUGEL, CP
CALGARY -- The National Energy Board has approved the $2-billion Alberta Clipper oil pipeline proposed by Enbridge Inc. but attached certain conditions in response to concerns raised in public hearings last November.
The 1,600-km pipeline will stretch from Alberta to Wisconsin and will have an initial capacity of 450,000 barrels of oil a day.
The Canadian portion stretches 1,078 km between Enbridge's terminal near Hardisty, Alta., and the Canada-U.S. border near Gretna, Man.
"The board is satisfied from the evidence that the Alberta Clipper facilities are, and will be, required by the present and future public convenience and necessity and therefore find that approval of Alberta Clipper is in the public interest," the federal regulator said in a statement.
The Calgary-based pipeline company must conduct an emergency response exercise at its South Saskatchewan River crossing to allay concerns about safety.
People who attended the NEB's public hearing process said they wanted the company to test its safety procedures, equipment, communications systems and training of company personnel.
The board instructed Enbridge to file a report on the tests, which must be completed within six months of operations beginning.
Pending U.S. regulatory approvals, the pipeline is scheduled to be in service in mid-2010, Enbridge says.
The Calgary-based company said it's reviewing the details of the board's decision but a spokesman said the testing required by the board will be done.
"That's part of our normal course of business, to conduct regular emergency exercises," Enbridge spokesman Jennifer Varey said in an interview.
"That's something we're absolutely prepared to do."
Before the hearings, Enbridge reached settlement agreements with pipeline landowners associations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as three aboriginal groups affected by the project.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2008/02/24/4872415-sun.html
