The message in this article for Enbridge? The landowners want to negotiate a deal, and are using intervention in the hearing as a bargaining ploy. It's pretty conventional foreplay in the pipeline-landowner dance. But Enbridge has been playing it tough, and so far is unwilling to meet with the landowners.

Alberta Clipper at the NEB The hearing date is set for November 5, 2007.

A more interesting debate took place over at the Trans-Canada Pipelines Keystone Pipeline proceeding. It's between the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Alberta Federation of Labour, and the Parkland Institute, on the one side, and TCPL/Keystone on the other. CEP/AFL/Parkland argue that exporting heavy crude is exporting jobs and economic opportunities from Alberta and Canada, to the U.S. They argue that the refining and value-added investment and work should take place in Canada, not in the U.S. They further argue that Canada's energy security should be a consideration in the project review. They will be making similar arguments in the Alberta Clipper proceeding.

TCPL/Keystone said in its reply argument after the hearing in June that the CEP et al arguments were out of scope, had no merit, and should be ignored. The NEB decision on the project is, well, taking a long time.
Keystone Pipeline at the NEB

Stefan Schussler
Regina Leader-Post
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

REGINA -- Oil spills, soil erosion, soil contamination and crop loss top the list of concerns of an organization of landowners about a proposed oil pipeline.

The Saskatchewan and Manitoba Associations of Pipeline Landowners and the Canadian Alliance of Pipeline Landowners Association met in Regina on Tuesday to discuss Enbridge Inc.'s proposed Alberta Clipper pipeline project that will cross members' properties.

The proposed pipeline would transport heavy crude oil from Hardisty, Alta., straight through the properties of several Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents, then travel south to Superior, Wis.

The proposed $2-billion project would create a pipeline capable of carrying 450,000 barrels of crude daily, but could be expanded to 800,000 barrels as demand increases.

Both the SAPL and MAPL represent people who own land that pipelines pass through. The SAPL represents 187 landowners, and was formed earlier this year as a response to the landowners' concerns about the pipeline project.

According to Ken Habermehl, president of the SAPL, this is the first purchase of easement by a pipeline company in 55 years. "This is the only real chance in our lifetime to negotiate," said Habermehl. "This is the only time we can get them to do things in a way that is better for the environment and the public."

Environmental concerns are chief among a list of concerns issued by the organizations in a letter to Enbridge in January, specifically the condition of aging pipelines currently beneath their land and the environmental liabilities when the pipelines fall into disuse.

"When all is said and done and the companies are gone we, the landowners, are left with the bill," said Habermehl.

However, documents obtained from the National Energy Board (NEB), the federal energy regulatory body in Canada, read that the abandonment of federally regulated pipelines requires approval. A public meeting takes place to determine if abandonment is in the best interest of everyone involved. The board then conducts "an environmental assessment of the proposed abandonment or decommissioning and will determine what restoration work is required. A restoration plan is approved before work begins to ensure that land disturbed by the removal or sealing of a pipeline is restored," according to the NEB.

Habermehl is also concerned about what he believes is an increase in so-called "integrity digs" -- done by the company to inspect and repair sections of pipe -- that spot the land along current pipeline routes.

"There's more spills and leaks and more and more digs," said Habermehl.

In April, a leaky pipeline in the Glenavon area of southeast Saskatchewan led to the spill of thousands of barrels of crude on private land. Habermehl is concerned that the leaks may become commonplace as pipelines, some over 50 years old, continue to age.

According to Habermehl, integrity digs are basically a temporary patch.

"They put collars around the pipes (to reinforce them). They're going to end up collaring the whole pipeline."

Habermehl and the three organizations have filed for intervenor status at Enbridge's NEB approval hearings for the Alberta Clipper.

The Nov. 5 hearings are part of the lengthy process involved in getting approval for the construction of the pipeline, slated for completion by 2010.

Habermehl hopes that it won't have to go that far. The groups plan to raise their concerns in negotiations with Enbridge in Regina that begin today.