Panel Members to start hearing process by visiting 10 cities across 6 provinces
CALGARY, June 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The National Energy Board (NEB) announced today that the funding available to eligible intervenors for the Energy East hearing has been doubled from $5 to $10 million — the largest amount ever provided through its Participant Funding Program. The NEB also released the list of participants, as well as the schedule and locations of the Panel sessions.
The NEB is committed to hearing from Canadians and in addition to the enhanced engagement opportunities announced last week, it has increased the amount available through its Participant Funding Program for the review of the Energy East and Eastern Mainline projects. Eligible intervenors who have not yet been awarded funding have until August 8, 2016, to apply.
After conducting a thorough examination, the Hearing Panel granted intervenor status to 337 applicants and commenter status to 271 applicants. Those not granted participation rights in the hearing process will be able to provide input in the review through expanded public engagement activities to be carried out by additional Board Members.
A total of 2,652 applications to participate in the Energy East and Eastern Mainline hearing were received by the NEB. Of those, over 100 were duplicates and approximately 1,450 were submissions of a form letter about climate change and upstream greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), which will be the topic of an assessment conducted by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The NEB is currently working with ECCC to find ways to enhance public participation in the review of the draft upstream GHGs assessment report.
The first phase of the hearing process will be Panel sessions, which will take place between August and December 2016 in 10 locations in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The schedule can be found in the Direction to Participants #4.
Participants will have the ability to provide feedback on the hearing process through a survey issued today. Feedback from this survey will be incorporated in the Hearing Order to be released around mid-July. In addition, the NEB has invited Aboriginal intervenors to continue providing Oral Traditional Evidence.
Associated Links
- Ruling on Participation - http://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/fetch.asp?language=E&ID=A5D0S7
- Direction to Participants #4 - http://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/fetch.asp?language=E&ID=A5D0T2
- Letter to Aboriginal Intervenors regarding OTE - http://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/fetch.asp?language=E&ID=A5D0T5
The National Energy Board is an independent federal regulator of several parts of Canada's energy industry with the safety of Canadians and protection of the environment as its top priority. Its purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest. For more information on the NEB and its mandate, please visit www.neb-one.gc.ca.
SOURCE National Energy Board
Sarah Kiley, Communications Officer, National Energy Board, Email [email protected], Telephone: 403-299-3302, Cell: 403-614-6526, Telephone (toll-free) 1-800-899-1265 ; Marc Drolet, Communications Officer, National Energy Board, Email: [email protected], Telephone: 514-283-2261, Cell: 514-476-9911
Share this article