A route through hostile terrain
An environmental review process will look at environmental effects, including possibility of spills, and whether the project is in the public interest. Opposition is fierce. Part 1 of a five- part series.
WHAT'S BEING ADDRESSED
The first condition, as with all the other conditions, applies to Enbridge's proposed $6.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline, but also to Kinder Morgan's proposed $5.4-billion expansion of its existing TransMountain pipeline.
The scope of the Northern Gateway review includes its 1,170-kilometre pipeline, marine terminal and tanker transport along the coast of B.C. In the case of Northern Gateway, the review considers the environmental effects of the project, including the possibility of spills.
From a broad perspective, the review is meant to determine whether the project is in the public interest.
The federal cabinet has the final say on the project. Legislative changes introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives in 2012 gave Ottawa the power to overrule NEB decisions.
PROGRESS
Public hearings into the Northern Gateway project wrapped up last June.
A decision on the Northern Gateway project by the National Energy Board-led panel is expected before the end of the year.
The Kinder Morgan project is in the early stages of a federal review, and has not yet submitted its formal application.
The year-long Northern Gateway community hearings wrapped up in February, with environmental groups trumpeting their claim that 1,159 speakers opposed the project to two who testified in favour. The panel does not rely on public input, however, and also examines the engineering of the project and rates charged to ship oil.
Those deliberations are meant to help the panel determine whether the project is economically viable, and whether it can be built safely and if it will be harmful to the environment.
High-level federal panels hardly ever turn down projects of this nature.
The last major rejection by the NEB took place in 2004 when it rejected a power line for the Sumas 2 gas-powered electrical plant on the U.S. side of the border south of Abbotsford.
HURDLES
If the Northern Gateway project is given the green light, First Nations have indicated they will use legal action to halt the project.
Groups such as the Yinka Dene Alliance have also said they would resort to civil disobedience to stop the Northern Gateway project.
The alliance represents six First Nations whose traditional territory encompasses about 25 per cent of the pipeline route.
It's also likely environmental groups would partner with First Nations or launch their own legal fights. Both First Nations and environmental groups have turned to the courts in the past to halt major resource projects.
For example, in September 2012, several environmental groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation and Greenpeace Canada, announced they would go to court to use the Species At Risk Act to halt Gateway.
Red Deer Calgary In the early stages of the Northern Gateway review, the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council launched legal action because they said they were not consulted in setting up the review.
Condition 1
Successful completion of the environmental review process. In the case of the Northern Gateway pipeline, that means a recommendation by the National Energy Board Joint Review Panel that the project proceed.
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