Environment
05/30
For immediate release
20 December 2005
National Energy Board to begin Mackenzie Gas Project hearing on 25 January 2006
CALGARY - The National Energy Board (NEB) will begin its public hearing on the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project in Inuvik on Wednesday, 25 January 2006.
The NEB set its hearing schedule after obtaining comments in communities during a Pre-Hearing Planning Conference in four Northwest Territories locations and through feedback received in writing and by phone.
"In setting the schedule, we wanted to ensure that people affected by the project have full opportunity to participate in the review process," said National Energy Board Chairman and CEO Kenneth Vollman, one of three NEB members selected for the Mackenzie Gas Project hearing.
Vollman noted that the schedule is coordinated with the environmental assessment process conducted by the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project (JRP.) A Cooperation Plan designed to reduce regulatory duplication and provide clarity of process was signed in 2002.
The JRP focus is on the environmental, socio-economic, and cultural issues of the project. The NEB will consider all other issues including engineering, safety and economic matters and will make a decision on whether the project is in the public interest after receiving the JRP's report and the response to it from the Government of Canada.
The National Energy Board is an independent federal agency that regulates several aspects of Canada's energy industry. Its purpose is to promote safety and security, environmental protection and economic efficiency in the Canadian public interest within the mandate set by Parliament in the regulation of pipelines, energy development, and trade.
The hearing schedule is attached.
Attachment 1
Schedule for the NEB Hearings
| Location | Hearing Topics | Hearing Dates (2006) |
Duration |
| Inuvik | General; Development Plans; Supply studies (Gilbert Lausten Jung Associates report from the Applicants and Sproule Associates Limited report from the Mackenzie Explorers Group) and the market study from Navigant Consulting | January 25 - February 2 | 7 days |
| Norman Wells | General; Engineering - Pipeline Design and Materials; Engineering - Facilities | April 24-28 | 5 days |
| Fort Good Hope | General; Tolls and Tariffs | May 29-31 | 3 days |
| Tulita | General | June 1 | 1 day |
| Yellowknife | General; Engineering (all topics); Economic Feasibility; Tolls and Tariffs | July 24 - August 4 | 10 days |
| Fort Providence | General; Engineering - Logistics and Transportation | September 25-26 | 2 days |
| High Level | General | September 27-28 | 2 days |
| Hay River | General; Engineering - Logistics and Transportation | September 29-30 and October 2 | 3 days |
| Wrigley | General; Engineering - Slopes and Water Crossings | October 3 | 1 day |
| Fort Simpson | General; Engineering - Slopes and Water Crossings | October 4-6 | 3 days |
| Spare Hearing Days | October 30 - November 3 | 5 days | |
| Inuvik | General; Economic Feasibility; Commercial Access and Fees; Tolls and Tariffs | November 20-24 | 5 days |
| Colville Lake | General; Tolls and Tariffs | November 27 | 1 day |
| Inuvik | General; Economic Feasibility; Commercial Access and Fees; Tolls and Tariffs | November 28 - December 1 | 4 days |
| Tuktoyaktuk | General | December 4 | 1 day |
| Inuvik | General; Economic Feasibility; Commercial Access and Fees; Tolls and Tariffs | December 5-15 | 9 days |
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Procedural Update #6 [Filing A10981] provides further information on the National Energy Board's hearing schedule and procedures for the Mackenzie Gas Project based on input received by the NEB during the Pre-Hearing Planning Conference.
The coordinated Joint Review Panel / NEB hearing schedule is available on the Northern Gas Project Secretariat Web site at http://www.ngps.nt.ca/WhatsNew.htm.
For further information:
Andrew Cameron (acameron@neb-one.gc.ca)
Communications Officer
Telephone: 403-299-3930
Telephone (toll free): 1-800-899-1265
Telecopier: 403-292-5503
Telecopier (toll free): 1-877-288-8803
For a copy of the Hearing Schedule and the Procedural Update [Filing A10981]:
National Energy Board
publications@neb-one.gc.ca
Ground Floor
444 Seventh Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 0X8
Telephone: 403-299-3562
Telephone (toll free): 1-800-899-1265
Telecopier: 403-292-5576
Telecopier (toll free): 1-877-288-8803
| Updated: 2006-10-11 | 
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