The National Energy Board's Joint Review Panel will be back in Prince George in seven weeks for the final phase of hearings into the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
The panel announced the dates and times for sessions in Edmonton, Prince George and Prince Rupert on Tuesday. At the final hearings. registered interveners will be allowed to cross-examine representatives from Enbridge, the company behind the $6 billion plan to build a pipeline from Alberta's oil sands to Kitimat.
Interveners will be able to question the pipeline proponents on any written or oral evidence they have provided to the panel since the process began in 2010.
The meetings in Prince George will begin Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. at the Columbus Community Centre on Domano Boulevard. The panel will continue to meet at that location until Oct. 19, with hearings going all day during weekdays and on the morning of Saturday Oct. 13.
The venue shifts to the Ramada hotel on George Street for another series of hearings from Oct. 29 to Nov. 9.
The topics for the Prince George sessions will focus on the environmental and socioeconomic effects of the pipeline, accident prevention and response, the impact the pipeline could have on landowners and the design and construction of both the pipeline and the marine terminal.
The final hearings kick off Sept. 4 in Edmonton. The panel will hold meetings in the Alberta captial from Sept. 4-8 and Sept. 17-28 dealing with economic and financial issues. The hearings conclude in Prince Rupert from Nov. 22-30 and Dec. 10-18, with topics ranging from the rights and interests of First Nations to the safety of the marine terminal.
The panel has reserved the right to modify the times of the hearings as required.
The federal government has mandated that the panel provide its final written report and recommendations for the pipeline by the end of 2013.
