Bill C-69 has had its share of controversial commentary. Most notably, it’s been dubbed the “no more pipelines bill” by Alberta’s provincial government and the Opposition federally, and it’s catchy enough to be repeated consistently..A recent report from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, however, suggests that it might be time to move on from catchphrases..Victoria Goodday, an energy and environment policy researcher, published her findings in December and they’re not quite as dire as some keep saying; in fact, the new legislation seems to be less cumbersome than the previous legislation – for oil, gas, and pipelines, that is..Bill C-69 introduced the Impact Assessment Act which replaced the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act from 2012. The changes are varied with some project types seeing a decrease in stringency and others seeing an increase..“Proponents of mining projects and nuclear projects are now less likely to face federal assessment; proponents of offshore wind or tidal energy projects, more likely,” Goodday said..“Specific to petroleum-based energy projects (oil, gas, and coal), 50 per cent (14) of projects under this activity type remain unchanged from (previous legislation).”.In situ oil sands extraction facilities were added but only trigger a federal review if they are located in a province without legislation around GHG emission limits; since Alberta has retained TIER (technology, innovation and emissions reduction regulation), projects in the province would be exempt from additional assessments..Goodday says the new “list is arguably more lenient” than the previous legislation with regard to oil and gas pipeline proponents..“Most notably, the entry for a new onshore pipelines became less stringent,” she said..“Only pipelines requiring 75 km or more of a new right-of-way will be designated (for assessment), compared to 40 km or more of new pipeline (under prior legislation); this means that pipelines built within an already established right-of-way will no longer be automatically designated.”.Twinning existing projects, like the Trans Mountain Expansion, will not require additional federal assessment under C-69..The new legislation was also updated to include abandonment and decommissioning so that projects at their ‘end-of-life’ will not trigger new federal assessments..Protected marine areas were added and will require a federal assessment if pipelines are mapped out through protected water areas..“We see that this new list (of designated projects) works in favour of pipeline proponents, it very much works in favour of nuclear energy proponents,” she clarified in an interview with Ryan Jespersen Tuesday..Goodday also added that the new legislation appears to be streamlining the process to omit federal assessments in regional areas where the provincial and municipal assessment processes are deemed to meet the federal assessment standards; which is good news for provinces that have a major resource industry..Story ideas? dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com Twitter @Mitchell_AB
Bill C-69 has had its share of controversial commentary. Most notably, it’s been dubbed the “no more pipelines bill” by Alberta’s provincial government and the Opposition federally, and it’s catchy enough to be repeated consistently..A recent report from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, however, suggests that it might be time to move on from catchphrases..Victoria Goodday, an energy and environment policy researcher, published her findings in December and they’re not quite as dire as some keep saying; in fact, the new legislation seems to be less cumbersome than the previous legislation – for oil, gas, and pipelines, that is..Bill C-69 introduced the Impact Assessment Act which replaced the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act from 2012. The changes are varied with some project types seeing a decrease in stringency and others seeing an increase..“Proponents of mining projects and nuclear projects are now less likely to face federal assessment; proponents of offshore wind or tidal energy projects, more likely,” Goodday said..“Specific to petroleum-based energy projects (oil, gas, and coal), 50 per cent (14) of projects under this activity type remain unchanged from (previous legislation).”.In situ oil sands extraction facilities were added but only trigger a federal review if they are located in a province without legislation around GHG emission limits; since Alberta has retained TIER (technology, innovation and emissions reduction regulation), projects in the province would be exempt from additional assessments..Goodday says the new “list is arguably more lenient” than the previous legislation with regard to oil and gas pipeline proponents..“Most notably, the entry for a new onshore pipelines became less stringent,” she said..“Only pipelines requiring 75 km or more of a new right-of-way will be designated (for assessment), compared to 40 km or more of new pipeline (under prior legislation); this means that pipelines built within an already established right-of-way will no longer be automatically designated.”.Twinning existing projects, like the Trans Mountain Expansion, will not require additional federal assessment under C-69..The new legislation was also updated to include abandonment and decommissioning so that projects at their ‘end-of-life’ will not trigger new federal assessments..Protected marine areas were added and will require a federal assessment if pipelines are mapped out through protected water areas..“We see that this new list (of designated projects) works in favour of pipeline proponents, it very much works in favour of nuclear energy proponents,” she clarified in an interview with Ryan Jespersen Tuesday..Goodday also added that the new legislation appears to be streamlining the process to omit federal assessments in regional areas where the provincial and municipal assessment processes are deemed to meet the federal assessment standards; which is good news for provinces that have a major resource industry..Story ideas? dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com Twitter @Mitchell_AB
