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Home > Speeches and Presentations > Speeches and Presentations 2006 > Emera Brunswick Pipeline Project - Pre-hearing Planning Session

Emera Brunswick Pipeline Project - Pre-hearing Planning Session

Presented by
Sheila Leggett, Panel Chair
Strater Crowfoot, Panel Member
Kenneth Bateman, Panel Member
National Energy Board

Saint John, New Brunswick

October 2006

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this Pre-Hearing Planning Session for the upcoming Emera Brunswick Pipeline Hearing.

First, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sheila Leggett. I am a Board Member at the National Energy Board and I will be chairing this meeting and the Emera Brunswick Pipeline Hearing. My fellow panel members are, to my right, Mr. Kenneth Bateman and, to my left, Mr. Strater Crowfoot. We also have staff members from the NEB present tonight who many of you have already met or talked with on the telephone. For those of you who haven't already met them, I would like to introduce to you:

• Paul Bourgeois - Project Manager
• Alison Farrand - Assistant Project Manager
• Jody Saunders - Legal Counsel
• Marian Yuzda - Legal Counsel
• Michèle Luit - Public Engagement Specialist
• Erin Dutcher - Regulatory Officer
• Carole Léger-Kubeczek - Communications Officer

The purpose of tonight's meeting is to provide you with an overview of the National Energy Board and its role, to have staff provide you with an overview of the NEB hearing process and answer any of your questions about that process and to obtain your feedback on the proposed hearing schedule and if you are an intervenor, under which issues on the Hearing Order List of Issues your questions will likely focus on and how much time you expect to need to ask your questions. You will note that we have included a feedback form in your package which will allow you the opportunity to provide your feedback to us in writing if you prefer rather than speaking at tonight's meeting.

We have allocated about an hour to receive your oral feedback, but recognizing that we have a full schedule tonight, we would ask you to limit your oral remarks to only addressing the proposed hearing schedule and to provide us with a written response with respect to the focus of your questions. The purpose of asking for your feedback on these items is so that we can do our utmost to schedule a hearing on the Emera Brunswick Pipeline application that will be effective and efficient. Once we have reviewed your oral and written feedback on the proposed hearing schedule and your estimates of subject areas and time requirements, we will set a final hearing schedule which will be distributed to all parties and posted on our Web site.

At this point, intervenors may not be certain of the amount of time that they will need to ask their questions. The feedback that we receive from you will only be used for planning purposes and you will not be held to whatever time estimate you provide us with. That being said, we are hopeful that all parties will be respectful of each other's time and use the hearing time that we will spend together wisely.

Before I move on to the panel presentation, I would like to mention two additional items. The first is that, at the request of an intervenor, we held a more informal question and answer session about the hearing process this afternoon to accommodate individuals who were not able to attend this evening's meeting. Secondly, there is often a tendency to want to delve into the subject of the hearing, but tonight is not the time to do this. We will be open the hearing on November 6^th and that is the time when we will hear information about the proposed project. Our goal in having tonight's meeting is to introduce ourselves and the NEB's hearing process to you, to hear your feedback on the two items that I have identified and for our staff to be available to answer any questions that you have about the hearing process.

Purpose of this session

For this first presentation, the Panel would like to take a few minutes to share information about who the National Energy Board is, why we are here this evening, and the role we play throughout the lifecycle of a pipeline.

Who is the National Energy Board?

The National Energy Board consists of 9 permanent Board members, a few temporary Board members and about 340 staff, all located in Calgary.

Being a quasi-judicial tribunal, our mandate is to promote safety, security, environmental protection, and economic efficiency on regulated facilities such as pipelines and powerlines.

The decisions we make on facilities applications are all based on knowledge that people share with us during our hearings.

Oil / Gas Pipelines

The National Energy Board regulates a network consisting of approximately 45 000 km of pipelines across Canada - some of which are gas pipelines, while others transport oil. In addition to pipelines, the Board also regulates close to 1 500 km of international power lines.

Because our networks of pipelines and power lines extend from coast to coast, we have developed relationships with people across Canada.

Who is the National Energy Board?

The National Energy Board consists of 9 full time members, 3 temporary Board members and about 340 staff, all located in Calgary. Our decisions are based on the knowledge that people share with us during our hearings.

In the Public Interest

Decisions made by the National Energy Board are based on the notion of public interest.

The best way to define public interest is to say that it is inclusive of all Canadians and refers to a balance of economic, environmental and social interests. We understand that these interests can change over time as society's values and preferences evolve continuously.

As a regulator, the Board must estimate, on the one hand, the overall public good a project may create and, on the other, weigh the impacts of its potential negative aspects before making a decision.

At this moment, I would like to pass the microphone to my colleague, Strater Crowfoot, who will speak about the lifecycle of a pipeline.

Life Cycle of a Pipeline

The purpose of the following slides is to demonstrate how the National Energy Board regulates the life cycle of a pipeline. The first official step in the process starts the moment a company files an application to build a pipeline or powerline.

Planning Phase

The planning phase includes all the work that takes place before the start of a public hearing.

It is during this phase that information needs to be shared by all interested parties.

Important information that is shared during the planning phase will include the following:

• From the company - Information about the project;
• From the people - Knowledge about the land, the environment and the communities; and
• From the National Energy Board - Information about the different phases of the hearing process and our role during the lifecycle of the pipeline.

Public Hearings

The hearing process is designed in a manner that allows people to exchange their knowledge about the pipeline and the effects it could have on the people, the environment and the economy.

What does a successful hearing look like? It is one where people have respect for diverse views while exchanging information about the proposed project. As the National Energy Board, our job is then to make a decision on the pipeline proposal after having taken into account the different views that have been shared by all interested parties.

Construction

If the decision is made to approve the project, then the following phase involves the pipeline construction. However, if the decision is not to approve the pipeline, then there will be no construction - that is the end of the project.

Reclamation / Operations

Whenever a pipeline is approved, the National Energy Board puts conditions on its construction and operation, and we ensure that these conditions are met throughout the life of the pipeline. NEB inspectors are assigned to ensure that those conditions are met.

During the entire operations phase, the National Energy Board continues to be responsible for regulating the pipeline. We inspect the pipeline to ensure that it is operated safely, that environmental protection activities continue, and that conditions of approval are being met. If concerns arise, people know who the National Energy Board is and how to reach us. We will respond to, and deal fairly with these concerns.

Abandonment

The final phase in the life cycle of any National Energy Board regulated pipeline involves its abandonment. For a company to be granted leave to abandon a pipeline, a series of stringent requirements must first be fulfilled. These conditions include, among others, a thorough environmental assessment followed by a public hearing.

For the next portion of this presentation, I invite my colleague, Kenneth Bateman, to share information about the Emera Brunswick Pipeline Hearing.

Emera Brunswick Pipeline Hearing

Thank you Mr. Crowfoot.

This past May, the NEB received an application from Emera Brunswick Pipeline Company Ltd. for the construction of a natural gas transmission pipeline. The company is seeking authorization to build and operate a 762-millimeter (30-inch) diameter, 145-kilometre pipeline to connect the Canaport™ Liquefied Natural Gas Facility at Mispec Point, near Saint John to the international border near St. Stephen.

Emera Brunswick Pipeline Hearing Panel

The three of us, that is Ms. Leggett, Mr. Crowfoot and I are the Panel Members assigned to consider all the evidence that is part of these proceedings. The public hearing is scheduled to start on 6 November at the Hilton Saint John Trade and Convention Centre (One Market Square, Saint John) in the Loyalist Room.

Public Hearing

Before a decision is made on whether or not a proposed pipeline can be built, the Panel must consider all of the submitted information. The best decision can only be made after a good flow of knowledge has been shared between interested parties and the Panel.

We Want to Hear Your Views

The exchange of knowledge is a critical part of the National Energy Board hearing process.

In order to make a sound decision, the Panel needs to hear from all interested parties:

• those who live on the land where the pipeline would be built;
• those who would use the gas that the pipeline transports;
• those who want to build the pipeline;
• those who are opposed to the pipeline being built; and
• those who have an interest in the project and the land it would affect.

We Want to Hear Your Views (continued)

It is during the hearing process that people meet and exchange their knowledge.

The knowledge shared during the hearing would include:

• the route of the pipeline,
• the engineering design,
• the construction techniques, and
• ways to minimize negative impacts or to increase positive impacts.

Following the exchange of information that takes place during the hearing, the Panel then makes a decision on whether or not to approve the pipeline. Should the application be approved, the Board will determine the conditions under which the construction could take place.

Now ladies and gentlemen, I will pass it over to Ms. Leggett who will close this presentation with her comments on the Proposed Hearing Schedule.

Sharing Your Views

Upon entering the room this evening, you were handed an information package containing an evaluation document. We invite you to fill it out as we do appreciate your comments. Should you not have had the opportunity to ask your procedural questions or share your concerns about the hearing schedule, please use this document to do so and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Proposed Hearing Schedule

The hearing is scheduled to start on Monday, 6 November 2006, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. We intend to be in session every day except for the weekend of November 11-12, and Sunday November 19. Please note that two evening sessions have been planned for oral statements (Wednesday, November 8 and Tuesday, November 14).

We understand that there is quite a substantial volume of information that will need to be shared during the Hearing. Please note that this is a tentative schedule and that we are prepared to extend these hours beyond what is being proposed at the moment. While we cannot commit to being able to accommodate everyone's schedule, we are open to hearing your feedback.

 

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Date Modified:

2011-10-28