Enbridge brings experts to Burns Lake to inform locals
Published: November 25, 2008 11:00 PM
Enbridge held an open house on Nov. 17 at College of New Caledonia (CNC) as part of its efforts to let the public know what is going on with its Northern Gateway pipeline project.
Several dozen people attended the open house, which was held from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm to allow people flexibility in attending the information session, and a dozen Northern Gateway engineers, environmental experts, and communications people were on hand to answer people’s questions.
Enbridge is proposing to build two pipelines from an area north of Edmonton to Kitimat, a distance of 1170 km.
The west line, 36 inches in diameter, will carry an average of 525,000 barrels of petroleum a day from near Edmonton to Kitimat.
The east line, 20 inches in diameter, will transport an average of 193,000 barrels of condensate a day from Kitimat to near Edmonton [condensate is a light oil used to thin heavier petroleum products for pipeline transport].
The east and west lines would be built inside a 25-metre right-of-way corridor, and buried one metre beneath the ground.
Enbridge officials estimated that approximately 85 people came to the CNC open house to ask questions, look at maps, and examine the various pipeline display boards that were liberally spread around the room, including several boards with lists of social and environmental topics, asking, “Is your concern listed here?”.
“We had some open houses last week in Alberta, where maybe a dozen people turned out. But here in Burns Lake, more people than we expected came out, and they came prepared, having done their research, and they asked some tough questions,” commented consultant Kevin Brown, who is helping Enbridge stage its open houses.
A dozen Lakes District residents who were concerned about the pipeline going through their properties and/or the Burns Lake Mountain Bike Park (BLMBP) had met earlier with Enbridge representatives on Nov. 12.
If regulatory approval is granted, Enbridge needs to obtain right-of-way or easement agreements with landowners along its 25-metre right-of-way corridor for the pipeline route, and arrange for financial compensation to those property owners for use of their land.
Neil Sweeney, Northern Gateway communications director, said, “We want to work with property owners, to try to come to arrangements with them; we want people’s cooperation; we don’t want to be fighting with them.”
Sweeney, asked what would happen if Enbridge could not sign right of way/easement agreements with property owners, said, “The National Energy Board would then come into the picture, and they would handle the expropriation process. But, we don’t want it to come to that. We want to make agreements with property owners, whose land the pipeline crosses.
Also, it will be much easier for Enbridge to obtain regulatory approval from the National Energy Board for the project, if we have negotiated easement/right of way agreements with property owners, rather than being in conflict with them.”
Another concern dealt with at the meeting was the impact of the proposed pipeline on the BLMBP trails.
Burns Lake Mountain Bike Association (BLMBA) members Kevin Derksen, Dawn Stronstad, and Pat and Patti Dube attended the open house. BLMBA members have been a driving force behind the design and construction of the BLMBP.
Derksen and Pat Dube commented, “As a result of our concerns, Northern Gateway seems willing to re-align part of its route through the Burns Lake area, so it goes around - rather than through - the mountain bike park.”
Enbridge engineer Ray Doering, commenting on the diversion of the pipeline route around the BLMBP, said, “Yes, the alternate route around the mountain bike park is something that we’re considering to reduce the impact on local areas.”
Derksen said that further trails are planned to be built
in 2009, around Boer Mountain north and east of the present trail system, and that Northern Gateway is aware of the BLMBA’s plans.
As for Northern Gateway’s impact on those proposed bike park trails, Doering stated, “What we would do, is come in, build our pipeline under those trails, and then restore the trails to their exact state prior to pipeline work in those areas, at Northern Gateway’s expense.”
Pump stations to control the flow of petroleum and condensate will be built at 100-km intervals along the pipeline route; they will be automated stations, monitored 24/7 at a computer facility in Edmonton, but Northern Gateway plans to have teams of workers stationed along the route in case something happens to the pump stations or the pipeline.
“We’re looking at locating a pump station in the Burns Lake area, and such a station will have to be built close to the BC Hydro transmission lines that cross just north of Burns Lake, as the pump station will be operated with electrical power, rather than generators, to ease the impact on the environment,” commented Doering.
“We plan to be back in the Lakes District many times over the next few years for public meetings like this, as we want to keep the community and interested stakeholders totally informed throughout the process, as we undergo the environmental assessment process,” said Brown.
Northern Gateway’s expects to submit its application for review by the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency sometime in 2009.
Following the submission, the National Energy Board (NEB)-led panel will hold public hearings along the proposed Northern Gateway route.
In addition, it is expected that the NEB will conduct community open houses in advance of public hearings, which will provide an opportunity for aboriginal groups, stakeholders and individuals to express their opinions directly to the NEB.
Because the pipeline crosses provincial boundaries, the NEB will regulate the Northern Gateway pipeline throughout its life.
If the project receives regulatory approval, construction is expected to begin in 2012, and pipeline operations will start up sometime in late 2014 or 2015.
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