Pipeline in Ontario quietly approved

An Ontario-based pipeline landowner's association representative raised questions over National Energy Board's quiet approval of Enbridge Line 7 with no public hearing and little notification of the project.

John Goudy, a member of the Ontario Pipeline Landowners Association who works as a litigator, criticized the NEB's decision as "ridiculous".

"The Board's decision is that there's no evidence our members are directly affected or have relevant information on the project, which is ridiculous, because the Board is well aware that OPLA members are landowners along the pipeline," he said. 

Many OPLA members are affected directly not only by Enbridge's Line 7, but also the Line 8 and Line 9 (now being debated for a controversial expansion and reversal project), which he said are "within a few feet" of each other.

Enbridge got the green light in late October, 2013, to increase capacity on Enbridge line 7 pipeline, which runs from Sarnia to Hamilton. The Board ruled that a hearing was "not warranted" due to the project's limited scope, saying that it expects Enbridge to engage with all stakeholders in the process. But the project is now raising alarm in Hamilton, where city officials say they'd never even heard of the project until the NEB had already approved it.


http://www.vancouverobserver.com/environment/enbridge-pipeline-ontario-approved-without-public-hearing-critic-calls-neb-claim