FREDERICTON — The Conservation Council of New Brunswick has applied to be an intervenor in the National Energy Board’s review of the proposed Energy East oil pipeline.
It is one of nearly 1,000 groups and individuals to apply to participate in the review of TransCanada Corporation’s proposal to build a 4,600-kilometre oil pipeline from the tarsands in Alberta to export terminals in New Brunswick. The deadline to apply was today.
Among other abilities, approved intervenors can file written evidence, ask written questions about evidence supplied by TransCanada, comment on draft conditions, and present written and oral arguments during hearings.
The Conservation Council has also applied to receive participant funding from the National Energy Board which it will use in part to hire a team of scientists to examine the pipeline proposal.
“There are already quite a few holes in the information the Board has received — it’s not translated, it neglects to address upstream climate pollution, and we have yet to discover where the second export terminal will be,” said Lois Corbett, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
“We need to have scientists with expertise in a range of fields — from oil spill impacts in rivers to how increased tanker traffic will affect the endangered whales in the Bay of Fundy.”
Corbett said the large number of groups and individuals who have applied demonstrates the concern Canadians have about the oil pipeline project, even in spite of changes to the hearing process which made it harder for people to be involved.
If approved as an intervenor, the Conservation Council will hire a team of experts to study:
- The pipeline’s potential impacts on freshwater fish and fish habitat in New Brunswick;
- The impact of the pipeline and increased shipping traffic on the Bay of Fundy and its wildlife such as the endangered Right whale;
- The state of emergency preparedness for responding to an oil spill in the Bay of Fundy; and
- The risks associated with oil spills and the use of dispersants in the Bay of Fundy and New Brunswick’s freshwater rivers, creeks and streams.
The Conservation Council is asking the National Energy Board to hold hearings in Edmundston and Saint John, at the minimum, so New Brunswickers have fair access to the review process.
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The Conservation Council of New Brunswick
Established in 1969, the Conservation Council serves as the province’s leading voice for conservation and environmental protection. A leading public policy advocate, CCNB works to find practical solutions to help families and educators, citizens, governments and businesses protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the precious marine ecosystem and the land, including the forests, that support us.
To arrange an interview, contact: Jon MacNeill, Communications Officer | 458-8747 | 261-1353 | jon.macneill@conservationcouncil.ca