Curious about the Regulatory review process our Project is currently going through? Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about the process:

Who is reviewing the Project?

The National Energy Board is an independent tribunal. It operates at arm’s length from the elected government in Ottawa. Its role is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest.

You can learn more about the process and the NEB on their website. They’ve also recently opened an online feedback

How does the NEB decide if the Project is in the countries best interest?

From the NEB website: Regulating in the Canadian public interest means factoring economic, environmental and social considerations into the decision-making process. By considering all the evidence that is presented on the record through the lens of these factors, the Board is able to make decisions that represent the ever-evolving interests and concerns of Canadians. This is critical to achieving the NEB’s vision of being active and effective in Canada’s pursuit of a sustainable energy future.

What criteria is the NEB using to review the Project?

The NEB has identified a list of issues that will be considered during the hearing process. You can find the list of 12 issues here. In addition, the NEB carries out its duties for an environmental and socio-economic review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

All of the NEB identified issues/considerations are addressed in our Facilities Application, including our consultation with Aboriginal Peoples, landowners and stakeholders, which can be found on the NEB’s website.  It can also be found on our website.

How many people are part of the process?

Of the approximately 2,000 individuals and groups who filed Applications to Participate, the Board admitted 1,683 participants, including Intervenors and Commenters. There are 404 Intervenors with full process rights and responsibilities ̶ the most ever to participate in an NEB hearing.

The 404 Intervenors have multiple opportunities to submit and test evidence through two rounds of Information Requests (IRs) and there’s no limit to the volume of questions. Intervenors have an opportunity to submit their own evidence and make their own arguments with respect to conditions and the overall Project. Commenters have the right to make comments and the NEB has the opportunity to follow up on issues through more IRs.

How were the participants chosen?

Participants must have met one or a combination of the following factors: are directly affected by or have relevant information and/or expertise related to the Project. Ultimately, the NEB decided which applicants were able to participate.

Under the NEB Act, those who are directly affected will be allowed to participate and those with relevant information or expertise may be allowed to participate.

How can participants already be decided if the exact route hasn’t been identified?

As a normal part of the process, a final right-of-way will be determined only after regulatory approval and during the detailed design phase. However, as part of our Facilities Application, we identified a selected pipeline study corridor, and in some cases, alternative pipeline study corridors – both options were presented and discussed with communities in the summer of 2013 at open houses, workshops and on this website. These study corridors, which are much wider than the actual right-of-way would be, allowed for greater, and inclusive, participation, determined by the NEB.

As was the case with the addition of our proposed route through Burnaby Mountain, should a major change in routing occur, the NEB could re-open the Application to Participate process for the specific area. However, at this point in the process we do not foresee any major routing changes.

Learn more about our routing process from Gary Babich, Lead, Routing.

How do you decide which questions you’ll answer when Intervenors submit information requests?

Trans Mountain received and answered more than 10,000 questions from some 120 Intervenors in Round 1 of information requests. All questions were given a response, but the response may have been that the question was beyond the scope of the Project, or outside the NEB’s List of Issues. Our team worked around the clock to provide appropriate answers to questions that were submitted.

As part of the process, if Intervenors were unhappy with the responses they were able to file motions asking for us to expand on our responses. You can read about the requests for further information from Round 1 here.

Why isn’t climate change part of the review?

The NEB has previously determined that upstream and downstream impacts of the pipeline are not in the scope of this review. Climate change is most often considered to be related to upstream activities, such as extraction. For additional details about the determination of the List of Issues you can contact the NEB at [email protected], or 1-800-899-1265.

While climate change is not part of the NEB’s List of Issues, we are looking at how we can minimize our footprint for the Project.

Potential environmental and socio-economic effects of the pipeline are described in the Application, Volumes 5A – Volume 5D.