Energy board hearings on N.B. pipeline will be David-versus-Goliath situation

COMMENT: The proposed Emera pipeline will deliver natural gas from a new LNG terminal on the east side of Saint John, New Brunswick, around the north end of the city, and then down to Maine to deliver the gas in to the US. The LNG terminal was approved on its own, although without the proposed pipeline, it would be stranded gas. People who remember the GSX Pipeline will hear echoes of times past.

The NEB proceeding registry is at http://tinyurl.com/ygr78l

CHRIS MORRIS
The Canadian Press
November 05, 2006

The process is designed for government agencies and corporations, people who have staff and lots of money. The system is stacked against us. But, hopefully, right will prevail.

(CP) - In what is shaping up to be a classic David-versus-Goliath struggle, concerned citizens in the New Brunswick port city of Saint John are preparing to take on the titans of the energy world.

Environmentalists and groups with names like the Friends of Rockwood Park are opposing a planned natural gas pipeline through Saint John, Canada's oldest incorporated city. It would transport gas to the energy-hungry northeastern United States.

When the National Energy Board begins its public hearings on Monday, Saint John residents opposed to the pipeline will face squadrons of lawyers representing the interests of Nova Scotia-based Emera Inc. and its partner, U.S.-based Duke Energy. The pair have contracted with Irving Oil and Repsol, one of the world's largest oil companies, to build the pipeline.

"The National Energy Board process is not easy and it's not made for citizens' groups," said pipeline opponent David Thompson, who speaks for both the New Brunswick Conservation Council and the Friends of Rockwood Park.

"The process is designed for government agencies and corporations, people who have staff and lots of money. The system is stacked against us. But, hopefully, right will prevail."

Brunswick Pipeline, a subsidiary of Emera, wants to build a 145-kilometre pipeline to carry gas from the Irving/Repsol liquefied natural gas terminal, under construction on Saint John's southeastern outskirts, through the city and across southwestern New Brunswick to the existing Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline in Maine.

The Irving/Repsol terminal is the most advanced of several Maritime LNG proposals making their way through planning and regulatory processes.

The people who oppose the pipeline route object to the way it would dissect Saint John and the city's cherished Rockwood Park, a beautiful public area built in the mid-1800s by one of the architects of New York City's Central Park.

"Rockwood Park is not meant to be an industrial park," said Thompson.

Opponents of the proposed pipeline route are promoting a marine route in its place.

The LNG terminal, which is being built on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, is scheduled to be complete by 2008 and there is pressure on Emera and Duke to have the pipeline in place at the same time.

Emera, keenly aware of its 2008 deadline, has rejected the idea of a marine route.

"It's not feasible," said Emera spokesman Steven Rankin, citing environmental, safety and scheduling issues.

Proponents of the pipeline have been ratcheting up pressure, to the point where they are warning that if the pipeline company doesn't get what it wants, that would mean the end of the pipeline, the end of the LNG terminal and the end of a proposal for second Irving Oil refinery.

It would also mean the end of the prospect of thousands of new jobs and Saint John's dream of becoming a Maritime energy hub.

The story became even more complicated late last week when Saint John common council, which had gone on record as preferring a marine route, flip-flopped and came out in favour of the land route.

The sudden change of mind came after Brunswick Pipeline promised the city $5.35 million in endowments if the land-based route gets the go-ahead from the NEB.

While cynical observers mused about bribery, Mayor Norm MacFarlan bristled at such suggestions.

"They never said, 'If you don't support us, you don't get your money,' " he said.

Council voted for the proposed land route by an eight-to-three margin, removing a significant irritant to the Emera application just days before the NEB hearings.

Still opposed to the land route is Saint John councillor Ivan Court, one of three council members with concerns about the cost of putting a pipeline, with its 100-metre clearances, through the city.

Court said a marine route would eliminate fears of catastrophic explosions, environmental upheaval and valuable land loss in the city of almost 70,000.

"We're the ones taking all the risk," said Court, adding that the city will not get gas from the pipeline.

"It still looks to me like the risks outweigh the benefits."

Rankin said the company's preferred route through the city would accommodate a state-of-the-art pipeline constructed with extra-thick walls to ensure safety.

"We're going above and beyond code," Rankin said, adding that gas pipelines cross many cities in Canada and the United States and have rarely caused problems.

Court said it's impossible to underestimate the influence companies like Irving Oil wield in New Brunswick. In addition to Irving Oil, the Irving family directs an enormous private empire selling everything from hardware to ships.

More than 80 individuals and groups will be interveners at the hearings, which are expected to take at least two weeks.

The board has also accepted 114 letters of comment, most of them from people opposed to the land route.

One of the most critical interveners will be the Nova Scotia government, which has expressed concerns about the New Brunswick pipeline and its possible impact on LNG projects planned for Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald has not opposed the Emera route outright, but he is making it clear he's worried the Irving/Repsol project would have strong cost advantages over pipeline prices the Nova Scotia projects would pay.

Copyright © 2006 The Canadian Press, All Rights Reserved.