Northern Gateway could build a greenhouse along its proposed pipeline route to speed up the process of restoring any rare plants disturbed during construction.
David Reid, a consultant hired by the company as part of the environmental review of its plan to build an oilsnads-to-Kitimat pipeline, cited the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline in Jasper National Park in 2005, which used an expedited process to restore some rare plants.
In that case pipeline owner Kinder Morgan collected seeds and root crowns from the identified plants and built a greenhouse on site so the plants could grow in their natural habitat. Once they grew big enough, they were transplanted onto a section of the right of way which was being reclaimed and fenced to protect them people and animals. Fertilizer and irrigation systems were installed to allow the plants to thrive.
"They had good success in restoring plant diversity," Reid said during testimony at National Energy Board hearings. "[It shows] it can be done in an expedited manner."
He said five years after the plants were restored the project showed a good survival rate.
Haisla Nation lawyer Jennifer Griffith asked the witnesses if the company would be willing to adopt similar measures for any rare plant species it encounters.
"Yes, we are," Northern Gateway environment director Paul Anderson replied.
In its application, Northern Gateway said any loss of species red-listed by the provincial government would be considered significant.
Northern Gateway consultant Jeffrey Green said the company is hopeful that the construction phase of the project could cause less of a disturbance on plant species in general - both rare and common alike - because its right of way parallels in many areas the one being used by Pacific Trails natural gas pipeline.
Since Pacific Trails has already begun to clear its right of way, Green said some of the areas Northern Gateway could be working on would already be disturbed. He added that Northern Gateway will also benefit from the use of public maps created by Pacific Trails as a requirement of their provincial environmental certificate.
There is a trade off in using a similar route to Pacific Trails as it will limit the company's ability to make small route changes to avoid sensitive areas. However Anderson said the benefits of paralleling outweigh the drawbacks.
"In more ways it presents an opportunity," he said.
