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First Nations receive pipeline review funding |
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Written by Gordon Hoekstra
Citizen staff
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Friday, 03 July 2009 |
A dozen First Nations, mostly in northern B.C., have received just over $335,000 in funding from Ottawa to participate in a review of Enbridge's proposed $4.5-billion pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat.
The 1,170-kilometre twin pipeline will transport oil from the Alberta tar sands to the northwest coast for transport to the U.S. western seaboard or Asia, while condensate, an oil thinner, will be returned to the oil sands.
The federal government has not appointed a joint National Energy Board-Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel yet, but has invited comment on the terms to establish the panel.
The Nee Tahi Buhn Band, the Stellat'en First Nation, the McLeod Lake Indian Band, and the Tl'azt'en Nation are among nine First Nations in northern B.C. that received funding.
The Nee Tahi Buhn Indian Band, near Burns Lake, 225 kilometres west of Prince George, received the largest portion of funding at $123,415, according to documents filed with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
The Nee Tahi Buhn Indian Band has also filed a letter with the National Energy Board and federal Ministry of Environment, requesting that the three-member review panel include at least one aboriginal person. "Given that this project has radical implications for aboriginal rights and title, and it has the potential to affect how consultation related to large-scale projects is carried out in the future, our band feels that a strong First Nations presence on the panel is integral to the legitimacy of the process," wrote Nee Tahi Buhn Indian Band chief Ray Morris in early June.
The pipeline would pass just north of Prince George at Bear Lake, south of Vanderhoof, just north of Burns Lake and south of Houston.
Other First Nations in northern B.C. received lesser amounts.
The Stellat'en First Nation, near Fraser Lake, 160 kilometres west of Prince George, received $33,368, while the Tl'azt'en Nation received $25,000. The McLeod Lake Band, north of Prince George, received $8,786.
Other bands in northwest B.C. which received funding include the Lax Kw'alaams Band, Kitamaat Village Council, Hartley Bay Band Council, the Kitselas First Nation and the Gitxsan Treaty Society.
First Nations in Alberta receiving money included the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, the Horse Lake First Nation and the Alexander First Nation.
While Enbridge has signed agreement with some First Nations on information sharing and establishing how to interact on the project, some First Nations have already said they are opposed to the project. Both the Wet'suwet'en, located in the Burns Lake area, and the Nadleh Whut'en, 160 kilometers west of Prince George, are opposed to the project because of environmental concerns.
Enbridge has said it is working on a framework to give First Nations a chance to take an ownership stake in the pipeline.
Key issues in the complex project -- described by Enbridge as the largest crude oil pipeline expansion in North America -- include mountainous terrain, hundreds of river crossings and a tanker terminal at Kitimat.
Thousands of workers will be needed during the estimated three-year construction period, but relatively few when complete. It's estimated that 50 permanent workers in Kitimat will be needed and a handful of workers along the route.
Enbridge has said it plans to file its environmental application this year.
A two-year assessment timeline - should the company get approval - puts the start of the three-year construction period beyond 2012.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 July 2009 )
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