Unbowed by Supreme Court defeat, plaintiffs demand full overhaul of National Energy Board

Environmentalists are demanding a complete overhaul of the National Energy Board (NEB) after the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed a challenge on Sept. 10 against restrictions on public consultation in pipeline hearings.

Vowing to take its fight to Parliament after Oct. 19, ForestEthics Advocacy slammed the Harper government’s reforms of the NEB Act as a violation of free speech, by barring scientific evidence of greenhouse gas emissions from hearings on  Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline twinning proposal, limiting the participation of Burnaby residents living near the planned route, and accusing the oil industry of influencing the rules to their advantage by appointing Kinder Morgan’s Steven Kelly as a member.

Enbridge's Line 9 Pipeline Must Undergo Tests Before Starting, NEB Rules

CALGARY - The National Energy Board isn't ready to let Enbridge start shipping crude to Quebec refineries just yet.

The federal watchdog granted Enbridge (TSX:ENB) "leave to open" its Line 9B pipeline between southern Ontario and Quebec on Thursday.

National Energy Board Investigating Keystone XL Builder TransCanada's Safety Practices

CALGARY - The National Energy Board is investigating new concerns about TransCanada Corp.'s pipeline safety practices.

A "concerned individual" brought the problems to the board's attention, spokesman Darin Barter said Thursday. A probe began in December of last year.

NEB expecting record participation in Energy East hearings

Starting this week, the National Energy Board is bracing for an avalanche of thousands of applications from people seeking to speak up about the controversial Energy East pipeline. The Energy East project proposes to push Alberta bitumen to Atlantic coasts.  

"I think there is an opportunity — given the size of the pipeline, and the high level of interest — that it could be a record number of participants,” said Katherine Murphy, an NEB spokesperson in Calgary.

The 30-day online application process opened up Tuesday.

Kinder Morgan not required to provide full oil spill response documents: NEB

The B.C. government won't be getting the full, unredacted version of oil spill response documents from Kinder Morgan for its proposed pipeline expansion, the Vancouver Observer learned on Friday.

In an email, a Ministry of Environment spokesperson said Kinder Morgan will not be required to provide the documents for Trans Mountain, as the province requested in a motion in December.

The government's request was denied on the basis that "sufficient information has been filed from the existing Emergency Management Plan documents to meet the [NEB's] requirements at this stage of the process."

Waterloo woman finds NEB e-mail lauding public’s inability to question pipelines

A Waterloo resident – now credited with finding crucial flaws in Enbridge’s Line 9 reversal pipeline in Southwest Ontario -- is sounding the alarm over an internal e-mail from the National Energy Board that appears to boast about new Harper government rules that reduce the public’s ability to ask questions at pipeline hearings.

First Nations: NEB Kinder Morgan process unconstitutional

Constitutional challenges seem likely if the federal government approves Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

On Friday, Squamish Chief Ian Campbell presented a letter to the Harper government outlining the process’ defects. That letter, signed by twelve First Nation leaders, stated they are “wholly dissatisfied” with the Crown’s approach to consultation and called on the Crown to develop a meaningful consultation process.

The allegations of unconstitutionality include: failure to consult about the NEB process; use of written information requests rather than live cross examination of witnesses; insufficient capacity funding; and no guidance regarding how consultation will occur following the NEB’s recommendation.

Brenda Gaertner, counsel for the Tsawout First Nation (part of the Saanich First Nation), which testified on Friday, told the NEB panel that consultation must occur on a government to government basis and not through a technical regulatory process. In addition, she said, consent is required by Section 35 of the constitution, the Douglas Treaty and international law.

Original Article
Source: vancouverobserver.com/
Author: Carrie Saxifrage

National Energy Board panel’s assurances to Tsawout First Nation ring false

Tsawout First Nation elders testified to the NEB panel that tanker traffic from the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline will violate their right to “fish as formerly” under by the Douglas Treaty. It would also violate Section 35 of the constitution, and international law and destroy the First Nation’s ongoing project to revitalize traditional fishing methods.

The Tsawout were known as “the salt water people,” in part due to their unique practice of reef net fishing. They set up nets anchored to the bottom and fixed to canoes in special sites that had the right combination of underwater topography, tidal currents and salmon runs. The method of fishing was taught to them by a young man, a salmon incarnate, who married a Tsawout princess and lived in their village until the couple returned to the sea. Nick Claxton, who holds a Master’s degree in Indigenous Governance, is working a doctoral dissertation on revitalizing reef net fishing at University of Victoria.  All of the traditional reef net sites are adjacent to the tanker route.

Kinder Morgan's $136 million pipeline 'war chest' to be paid by Canadians

In what an economist calls an "unfair" decision, the National Energy Board has allowed Kinder Morgan to build a $136 million 'war chest' to fund its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion application through shipping surcharges. The charge, called a "firm service fee",  allows Texas-based pipeline company Kinder Morgan to offload the cost of the pipeline application to Canadian shippers.

"The decision to enable this unfair advantage is unprecedented. The approach has been rejected out of hand by US regulators," said Robyn Allan, an independent economist and former CEO of ICBC, who outlined the finding in her report.

National Energy Board review of Trans Mountain pipeline called a 'farce'

The National Energy Board (NEB) is currently reviewing a proposal from Texas-based Kinder Morgan to twin the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta to Burnaby, British Columbia and expand its volume from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day.

This week, former BC Hydro CEO and Suncor Energy Board member Marc Eliesen withdrew from the NEB hearings.

Has The National Energy Board Been ‘Captured By Industry'?

The notion of “regulatory capture” — a regulator essentially becoming a tool of the industry it’s meant to regulate — is not new in the U.S.

There, stories abound about banking regulators aggressively ignoring signs of malfeasance and even criminality in the years ahead of the financial collapse.

But that sort of short-sighted abrogation of regulator responsibility would never happen in Canada, right? Well it can and it is, says a former energy industry insider.

Fed Up with 'Captured' Regulator, Exec Quits Kinder Morgan Review

Marc Eliesen, a senior energy executive who once served as CEO of BC Hydro, has quit his role as an intervenor in the federal review of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline and oil tanker expansion project, calling the National Energy Board "a truly captured regulator."

Eliesen has worked in the nation's energy sector for 40 years. In addition to running the nation's largest hydro utilities, he served in a variety of senior positions in both federal and provincial governments of all stripes, including as Ontario's deputy minister of energy.

Kinder Morgan questions how much B.C. First Nation still eats fish

How much do First Nations still catch and eat fish? That appeared to be a key line of questioning at a National Energy Board hearing underway this week in Chilliwack regarding Kinder Morgan's $5.4-billion oil pipeline expansion.

The forum is designed to gather oral evidence from Aboriginals on the Texas-based company's proposed Trans Mountain expansion pipeline that would cross dozens of rivers considered sacred to B.C. First Nations.

Enbridge Line 9B pipeline delayed by NEB over major water body concerns

Energy company Enbridge will have to take more safety measures to protect major waterways before it gets permission to start up its Line 9B oil pipeline.

The order from the National Energy Board this week will delay plans to start up the pipeline project by at least three months and possibly longer. It may force the company to do even more work to bring its pipeline up to standards before the oil flows.

Why NEB's Gateway Report Is Vulnerable to Legal Assault

The federal Joint Review Panel report recommending Ottawa approve Northern Gateway has a number of flaws, errors and misrepresentations. The issues are serious enough that several environmental groups and two First Nations have asked the federal court for a judicial review. Ecojustice lawyers representing Forest Ethics Advocacy, Living Oceans Society and Raincoast Conservation Foundation seek a court order to prevent the cabinet from relying on the report.

The most disturbing aspect of the report is the false risk message it sends. Much of the bias is the panel's own doing, but some is because Enbridge can't be trusted to tell the truth. It looks as if the Canadian government isn't all that forthcoming either and not simply because Environment Canada quietly released a report in early January -- finalized last November -- contradicting Enbridge's claims that diluted bitumen will float in a marine setting.

Northern Gateway is a war that Ottawa can’t win

There was always a strong economic case to be made for the Northern Gateway pipeline. The question facing the National Energy Board panel evaluating its merits was whether those fiscal benefits outweighed the significant environmental risks associated with the project.

In recommending conditional approval for the pipeline, the board’s joint review panel this week decided that the societal and fiscal advantages the project represents to B.C. and the country ultimately trump any potential perils. Now it is up to Ottawa to decide if the panel’s endorsement is enough to proceed in the face of the aboriginal and environmental backlash the decision has already ignited.

David Suzuki slams federal review panel as 'rubber stamp' and Enbridge as having 'no credibility'

Canada's preeminent environmentalist, David Suzuki, said Friday that Enbridge is a company with "absolutely no credibility" and that the Joint Review Panel that recommended the Northern Gateway project proceed with conditions is nothing more than a federal "rubber stamp."

"Spills will happen, there is no question about that," the Vancouver-based broadcaster and scientist told The Vancouver Sun. "The question, is what do you do about it?"

He said Enbridge has engaged in a "huge public relations campaign," including expensive TV commercials, to tell British Columbians how much it cares for the environment, when in fact the company has no credibility.

Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel doesn’t address aboriginal concerns, says federal adviser

The federal government’s special adviser for Canada’s West Coast energy projects says that processes like the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel fail to address the concerns of First Nations communities affected by the project.



“The issues that First Nations communities want to have addressed simply aren’t being addressed in the way business is being conducted at present,” said Mr. Eyford, the Canadian government’s special representative on West Coast Energy Infrastructure. “From the perspective of First Nations communities, their view is that the essential, upfront conversation just isn’t happening because Canada is saying ‘We’re going to discharge our obligation through the regulatory process.’”



NEB's Northern Gateway approval is Act II in the Theatre of the Absurd

Act II of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway melodrama got underway with a whiff of comedy on Thursday afternoon.

For starters, the National Energy Board’s website apparently couldn’t handle traffic from the interested multitudes.

Like many Canadians, I tried to download a digital copy of its long-awaited decision. I was kicked back to a generic paragraph announcing the decision so many times that I gave up trying to open the link to the report and turned instead to the news feeds.

Comment on changes to Enbridge’s Toronto pipeline now requires NEB permission

Toronto area residents — or any others — who want to comment on plans by Enbridge to revamp its oil pipeline through Greater Toronto must ask permission to write a letter to Canada’s pipeline regulator.

Permission won’t necessarily be granted.

And the 10-page application for would-be letter writers has some cryptic hurdles to jump, such as this one on Page 4: