Feds mull axing Enbridge

The federal government has not made a decision whether to terminate an environmental review of Enbridge's proposed $4-billion Gateway pipeline now that the company has said it will delay the project two to four years. Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency spokesman Nicholas Girard said Tuesday there are two options: terminate the review or put the process on hold. 

He said no decision has been made and he wasn't sure when one would be. "Right now we are working with federal authorities responsible (for the project) to determine the next steps," said Girard. Those federal authorities include the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs and the National Energy Board.

The pipeline -- meant to carry oilsands oil to Kitimat for export to Asia or the U.S. west coast -- crosses through northern B.C. Enbridge made public its decision to delay the project a month ago, saying it was giving priority to increasing oil pipeline capacity inland to the U.S. One week ago, Enbridge officially told the federal government agencies heading the review of its change in plans.

The company wrote to the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, saying while it is confident the project will proceed, it was delaying the pipeline two to four years. Instead of the pipeline being complete by 2010 or 2011, the company is contemplating a time frame of 2012 to 2014. In a letter filed with the NEB's public registry, Enbridge suggested the environmental process for the Gateway project be delayed until the former pace of activity resumes.

That appears to suggest that Enbridge wants the review suspended. However, when asked Tuesday whether the company preferred the review be suspended or terminated, company spokesman Glenn Herchak didn't answer directly. Herchak said only it was up to government regulators and agencies to determine how to proceed, but that the company had given them their recommendations.

Enbridge has spent about $80 million on developing the Gateway project, which runs from the Edmonton area to Kitimat, passing just north of Prince George. The twin pipeline -- carrying oil to Kitimat and condensate, an oil thinner, back to Edmonton -- is meant to provide increased capacity for the Alberta oilsands, where production is expected to double by the end of the decade. The proposed project has come under criticism from First Nations and environmental groups.

The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, which represents seven bands west of Prince George, has said the impacts of the pipeline are potentially numerous and serious, and likely to be unacceptable to its members. The tribal council has filed an application in Federal Court challenging Ottawa's decision to send Enbridge's proposed $4-billion pipeline to a joint review panel. The tribal council -- the largest First Nations group in B.C.'s Northern Interior -- has asked the court to overturn federal Environment Minister Rona Ambrose's decision because they say they
were not consulted.

Ambrose announced Sept. 29 the pipeline would be jointly reviewed by a panel of the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

West Coast Environmental Law says the pipeline is a huge and risky project with uncertain benefits. Margot McMillan, staff counsel with the environmental group, said the joint environmental review should be cancelled. Enbridge's call for a delay is like asking for a free pass to make sure they keep their place in the regulatory queue if and when they decide to proceed, said McMillan. "The NEB and CEAA should not allow this type of special treatment," she said. "Not only does it raise issues of fair process, it also causes undue stress and uncertainty for communities potentially affected by the project."