Enbridge to apply for NEB permission to start pipeline

CALGARY • Enbridge Inc. says it expects its newly reversed Line 9 pipeline between southwestern Ontario and Montreal will come into service by the end of June.

The company plans to ask the National Energy Board for permission to open the pipeline within the next day or two, spokesman Graham White said Friday.

The pipeline was to have started up in November, but was delayed when the federal energy regulator flagged concerns about the protection of water crossings along the route.

The NEB approved the project in March of 2014, but the green light was subject to several conditions.

The board said Enbridge had submitted “insufficient” information on how it decided where to place valves shutting off the flow of oil in relation to water crossings.

On Friday, the NEB said Enbridge demonstrated its approach is appropriate, with a total of 62 valves along the pipeline’s route.

Of those, 17 were added as a result of the hearing process.

However, the NEB has imposed more obligations on Enbridge to make sure the pipeline will operate safely throughout its lifespan.

During the next year, Enbridge must submit more information to the board, including an analysis over whether more valves are needed. A member of the board has also been assigned to review all future filings for the project.

“The board takes protection of people and the environment seriously and it expects the same of the companies it regulates,” the regulator said in a release.

Line 9 opponents have argued Enbridge’s plan puts communities at risk, threatens water supplies and could endanger vulnerable species in ecologically sensitive areas.

Built in 1976, Line 9 originally shipped oil from Sarnia, Ont., to Montreal, but was reversed in the late 1990s to pump imported crude westward. Enbridge wants to switch the direction back to feed Alberta crude to eastern refineries.

The company plans to move 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day through the line, up from the current 240,000 barrels, with no increase in pressure.