The federal panel reviewing Enbridge's proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway oil pipeline said today that public hearings will begin in eight months, on Jan. 10, 2012.
The high-level review is a joint effort by the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
The location and exact timing of the hearings has not been determined, but information sessions to help explain how the review process will work and how to participate will be held in at least 15 locations in northern B.C. and Alberta.
Those locations include communities in north-central B.C.: Prince George, Vanderhoof, Burns Lake and Smithers.
Details of the exact locations and dates of the information sessions will be advertised later.
The 1,170-kilometre pipeline is proposed to transport oil from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat, where it will be transported overseas on oil tankers. The idea is to open up new markets in Asia, as Canada is almost completely reliant on the U.S. for its export market.
The proposed route will take the pipeline just north of Prince George and just south of Fort St. James. The pipeline has a capacity to carry 525,000 barrels of oil a day. The project includes a smaller, twin pipeline that will carry condensate back to Alberta. Condensate is used to thin crude oil for transport in pipelines.
Calgary-based Enbridge has touted the economic benefits of the pipeline, and said it will be built and operated to the highest safety standards.
The controversial project has attracted significant opposition from First Nations, environmental groups, some communities in northern B.C., as well as some tourism and fishery groups.
The main concern is the risk of a spill on the pipeline or from a tanker, and the subsequent damage to the environment. Critics have said any economic benefits are not worth the risks.
