The National Energy Board will hold detailed route hearings in the coming months as part of its regulatory oversight of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
Detaied route hearings for various tracts of lands located in segments one and two (of seven) located in Alberta will begin this fall and additional hearings for the remaining segments will be announced as they are confirmed, the NEB said.
The 1,147 kilometre pipeline project was approved by the Government of Canada in November 2016 along an approximate 150-metre wide pipeline corridor. The detailed route approval process will determine the exact placement of the new pipeline within the approved corridor.
It is a key regulatory step required by the NEB before construction can begin on the new pipeline.
Hearings for segments one and two will take place in Spruce Grove, Edson and Hinton Alberta beginning in November and December. Hearings in relation to the remaining segments which are located in British Columbia will take place in 2018.
The proponent is Kinder Morgan Canada, a subsidiary of Texas-based multinational
Kinder Morgan’s (
NYSE: KMI,
Forum) is proposing to expand its oilsands pipeline system to B.C.’s west coast.
In addition to the detailed route hearings, the company applied for seven variations to the approved pipeline corridor, which affect about four kilometres of the pipeline corridor.