NEB review to examine impact of Energy East on climate

The National Energy CALGARY Board said late Wednesday it is expanding the review of the $15.7-billion proposed Energy East pipeline project to include upstream and downstream climate change impacts.

The regulator said it would also look at the market consequences of Canada’s expanding greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets to decide whether the pipeline will be needed. Energy East would carry 1.1 million barrels of crude per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern Canada and an export marine terminal in New Brunswick.

The decision is a win for the environmental lobby and was immediately criticized by the pipeline industry, which argued climate change belongs in the public policy arena, not regulatory reviews.

The NEB said it expanded the scope of the Energy East review and the related Eastern Mainline projects after receiving 820 responses to its call for input, including 700 form letters. “Given increasing public interest in GHG emissions, together with increasing governmental actions and commitments ... the Board is of the view that it should also consider indirect GHG emissions in its NEB Act public interest determination for each of the projects,” the NEB said in a letter to proponent TransCanada Corp.

The Calgary-based regulator previously excluded GHG impacts outside of those directly related to construction and operation of projects.

In the letter, the NEB said Canada’s GHG laws and policies are relevant to the public interest because they may have an impact on existing and potential markets and the availability of oil and gas to the proposed pipelines.

Also in a statement, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association said it does not support the NEB ruling.

“CEPA firmly believes that broad public policy issues, such as climate change, should be addressed at the political level, and not through pipeline project reviews,” the group said.

TransCanada spokesman Tim Duboyce said his company would review the NEB’s announcement before assessing how the project might be impacted.