The National Energy Board (NEB) has rejected a request from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a two-week extension to the February 12 deadline for submissions on participating in a public hearing on the proposed Trans Mountain expansion.
In a letter to the U.S. environmental watchdog, the NEB said, “the board has set deadline to ensure a fair and efficient process and is not persuaded, based on the request, to grant the extension sought by the EPA.”
The letter says the EPA had indicated it was not aware of the deadline to participate until February 11. It requested the extension in order to follow through with agency protocols and procedures before submitting an application to participate.
“The letter does not state the impact on the EPA if it is unable to submit a late application to participate, or address possible prejudice to other applicants or Trans Mountain,” said the NEB letter.
The board said that before deciding on the request it considered the purpose of the request, the reason the deadline was not met, the impact on the EPA of not granting the extension and any prejudice to other applicants or Trans Mountain that granting the request may cause.
Trans Mountain has proposed to expand its pipeline between Edmonton, Alberta, and Burnaby, British Columbia, to 890,000 barrels (bbls) per day from 300,000 bbls per day.
The EPA is not the only party whose request for an extension has been denied by the NEB, citing deadlines and the need for a fair and efficient process. The Islands Trust Council in British Columbia had sought an extension until March 7 in order to debate its decision to participate at its next quarterly meeting.
The council said it was not aware of the deadline to apply to participate until January 14, 2014, and the February 12 deadline provided insufficient time to make a decision about participation.
Under the new process introduced by the federal government to speed up the regulatory process, applications to participate in the NEB hearing were due on or before noon February 12, 2014. Individuals and groups applying to participate were required to provide enough information for the NEB to decide whether participant status should be granted.
The pipeline proponent, Trans Mountain ULC, has until February 19 to provide the NEB with comments on applications to participate and must provide a copy of its comments to those applicants to whom the comments apply. Applicants who received comments from Trans Mountain about their application to participate have until March 4, 2014, to send the NEB their response to Trans Mountain’s comments.
