Kinder Morgan has now submitted its formal application to the National Energy Board (NEB), the federal pipeline regulator, for its Trans Mountain pipeline proposal.

Now that it's official, the proposal will be headed for a review process that will involve public hearings. But unfortunately, public involvement will  be limited and some major impacts associated with the pipeline expansion – such as climate change – won’t be considered in the review. 

Details about how to register to participate are available on the NEB website here.

You can also sign up for updates from the NEB to find out when and how you can apply to participate.

Due to changes brought in by the federal government as part of last year’s Omnibus Bill C38, the NEB now gets to decide who can – and cannot – take part in the hearings, and what ‘level’ of participation members of the public will be allowed.  You can read more about what we expect from the process in this background briefing, and this presentation by the NEB.

In the application to participate, people will be asked to show either that they are ‘directly affected’, or have ‘relevant information or expertise’. We won’t know exactly how the NEB will interpret these requirements until the process is underway, but it’s a key question to raise in the information sessions.  

If you don’t live on the pipeline route, will you be excluded from participating because you are not considered ‘directly affected’? We all have a stake in how our resources are developed, and we will all be directly affected by the impacts of climate change. We believe that everyone who cares about this issue and wants to take the time to get involved should be allowed to have their say – not be potentially excluded by the NEB, or simply put off by an over-complicated, burdensome application process.

Now that Kinder Morgan has filed the application, there will be a very short window of time for the public to apply to participate. As the deadlines are announced, we will be providing information and support to anyone who wants to get involved. But because of the short time-frame, it’s important to prepare now: so please sign up for updates from the NEB today!