National Energy Board quietly given authority to assess pipeline damage to fish
By PETER O'NEIL, Vancouver Sun December 18, 2013 3:01 PM
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The manifold area at Trans Mountain Pipeline’s terminal in Burnaby. The federal government has quietly transferred its authority to assess potential damage pipelines cause to fish and fish habitat from the fisheries department to the National Energy Board.
Photograph by: Ward Perrin , PNG
OTTAWA --- The federal government has quietly transferred its authority to assess potential damage pipelines cause to fish and fish habitat from the fisheries department to the National Energy Board.
The agreement between fisheries and the NEB was announced Monday, the same day Kinder Morgan announced it has submitted its $5.4 billion plan to build a pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby.
The decision, called "disturbing" by one fisheries watchdog group, was done as part of a broader Harper government objective to "streamline application processes by eliminating the requirement for duplicate reviews," according to an NEB news release.
It is also intended to "promote clarity and consistency of the regulatory decision-making process."
As a result, the NEB "will now be responsible for assessing potential impacts to fisheries from proposed NEB-regulated pipeline and power line applications."
The fisheries department's agreement with the NEB, a quasi-judicial independent body based in Calgary, includes a commitment to bring in "training and other knowledge transfer mechanisms" to the NEB to deal with fisheries protection and species at risk matters.
Craig Orr, of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, said the federal government is making a "disturbing" move.
"What expertise does the NEB bring relative to the Fisheries Act?" said Orr, noting that even fisheries department officials are struggling to explain to the public the nuances of the new legislation introduced in 2012 on fisheries habitat protection.
"So how much confidence should the public have in the NEB's ability to assure Canadians fisheries values would be protected with pipeline development?"
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