Agreement between
the National Energy Board
and
the Minister of the Environment
concerning
Review of the GSX
Canada Pipeline Project

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS the National Energy Board (the Board) has statutory responsibilities pursuant to the National Energy Board Act (the NEBA) and for environmental assessment pursuant to the NEBA and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (the CEAA);

WHEREAS the Minister of the Environment has statutory responsibilities pursuant to the CEAA;

WHEREAS an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity was filed with the Board pursuant to Part III of the NEBA by Georgia Strait Crossing Pipeline Limited on April 24, 2001 in respect of the GSX Canada Pipeline project (the Project), the Canadian component of a new international pipeline referred to as the Georgia Strait Crossing Project;

WHEREAS the Project is within the jurisdiction of the Board under the NEBA and requires an environmental assessment pursuant to the CEAA;

WHEREAS the Board has established processes under the NEBA for assessment of project proposals including the environmental effects of projects within its jurisdiction;

WHEREAS the Project requires a public regulatory hearing pursuant to the NEBA;

WHEREAS the Board has referred the Project to the Minister of the Environment for a referral to a review panel in accordance with paragraph 21(b) of the CEAA;

WHEREAS the Parties to this Agreement wish to avoid unnecessary duplication that could arise from carrying out the environmental assessment requirements under the CEAA and the NEBA;

WHEREAS the Minister of the Environment has determined that a Joint Review Panel should be established pursuant to paragraph 40(2)(a) of the CEAA to consider the Project;

WHEREAS the Parties agree to co-operate and co-ordinate the environmental assessment of the Project by means of a Joint Review Panel process to ensure adherence to the requirements of both the CEAA and the NEBA;

WHEREAS the CEAA requires responsible authorities to co-operate and co-ordinate their duties and obligations under the CEAA;

WHEREAS the Board has carried out an initial scoping process for the environmental assessment and comments from the public and other federal authorities have been solicited and received; and

WHEREAS the Parties are aware of and acknowledge the ongoing review of the GSX US Pipeline project before the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which will involve a public participation process in the United States of America;

NOW THEREFORE, the Parties agree to undertake to establish a Joint Review Panel, as outlined below and in accordance with the Terms of Reference attached as an Appendix to this Agreement, for the environmental assessment of the Project as described in the Project Description.

In this Agreement:

"Agency" means the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency;

"Board" means the National Energy Board;

"Board's Procedures" means the National Energy Board Rules of Practice and Procedure, 1995, as amended and made pursuant to section 8 of the NEBA;

"Board's Public Hearing Process" means the public hearing process followed by the Board under the NEBA to assess a proposed project and the environmental effects of a project;

"CEAA" means the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act;

"Environment" has the same meaning as set out in section 2 of the CEAA;

"Environmental Effect" has the same meaning as set out in section 2 of the CEAA;

"Federal Authority" has the same meaning as set out in section 2 of the CEAA;

"Follow-up Program" has the same meaning as set out in section 2 of the CEAA;

"Intervenor", as defined in the Board's Procedures, means a person who establishes an interest in a proceeding by filing a written intervention in accordance with the Board's Procedures;

"Joint Review Panel" means a joint review panel established pursuant to section 4 of this Agreement;

"Joint Review Panel Report" means the report set out in section 4.4 of this Agreement;

"Jurisdiction" has the same meaning as set out in subsection 40(1) of the CEAA;

"Letter of Comment" means a letter as referred to in section 30 of the Board's Procedures and means an unsworn written or oral submission that comments on the Project or on any issue related to the Review, that describes the nature of that submittor's interest in the Project and provides any relevant information explaining or supporting the submittor's comments. It does not give the submittor an Intervenor status in the review so the submittor cannot cross-examine witnesses or present final argument. Similarly, the submittor of a "Letter of Comment" is not subject to cross-examination;

"NEBA" means the National Energy Board Act;

"Parties" means the signatories to this Agreement;

"Pipeline" has the same meaning as set out in section 2 of the NEBA;

"Project" means the project as described in Part I of the Appendix to this Agreement, and may also be referred to as the GSX Canada Pipeline project;

"Project Description" means the description referred to in Part I of the Appendix to this Agreement;

"Proponent" means Georgia Strait Crossing Pipeline Limited;

"Public Registry" means the registry established under section 55 of the CEAA, to facilitate public access to records relating to the environmental assessment of the Project;

"Responsible Authority" has the same meaning as set out in section 2 of the CEAA; and

"Review" means the assessment of the environmental effects of the Project to be conducted pursuant to the CEAA and the consideration of the Project application under the NEBA.

APPENDIX

Terms of Reference

The definitions in the Agreement Between the National Energy Board and the Minister of the Environment Concerning Review of the GSX Canada Pipeline Project will apply to this Appendix.

Part I - Project Description

Undertakings proposed by the Proponent or likely to be carried out in relation to the physical works proposed by the Proponent, including:

Construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of,

• approximately 59.9 km of 406 mm O.D. natural gas pipeline (approximately 44.3 km offshore and 15.6 km onshore) from a point on the Canada - United States border in Boundary Pass roughly midway between the east end of Saturna Island (BC) and the west end of Patos Island (WA) to an interconnection with the existing Centra Gas British Columbia Inc. (Centra) pipeline at a point west of Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island, south of Duncan;
• mainline block valves located just landward of the Vancouver Island shoreline and at an intermediate point between the landfall and the Centra interconnection;
• a line block valve/blow off assembly, an excess flow control valve, a check valve, a separator, pig receiving equipment, liquid handling/storage equipment and Multiple Address System (MAS) radio equipment (including a free standing tower approximately 44 m in height) located at the Centra interconnection;
• a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system linking the above facilities to control centres;
• permanent access roads, communications system and power supply as may be required to service mainline valve sites and other pipeline facilities; and
• various temporary construction workspace, equipment laydown areas, and access roads.

Part II - Factors to be Considered During Review

The Review will include a consideration of the following factors listed in subsections 16(1)(a) to (d) and 16(2) of the CEAA:

In accordance with subsection 16(1)(e) of the CEAA, the assessment by the Joint Review Panel will also include a consideration of the following additional matters:

Part III - Scope of Factors

The Review will consider the potential effects of the Project within spatial and temporal boundaries which encompass the periods and areas during and within which the Project may potentially interact with, and have an effect on, components of the environment. These boundaries will vary with the issues and factors considered, and will reflect;

• the construction, operation, decommissioning, abandonment or other undertakings that are proposed by the Proponent or that are likely to be carried out in relation to the physical works proposed by the Proponent;
• the natural variation of a population or ecological component;
• the timing of sensitive life cycle phases in relation to the scheduling of the Project;
• the time required for an effect to become evident;
• the time required for a population or ecological component to recover from an effect and return to a pre-effect condition, including the estimated degree of recovery;
• the area affected by the Project; and
• the area within which a population or ecological component functions and within which a Project effect may be felt.