Edmundston mayor questions Energy East pipeline route

The mayor of Edmundston says the National Energy Board hearings on the Energy East pipeline haveleft him with several unanswered questions on why the route goes undera watershed near the city and what emergency measures would be in place in case of a spill.

The only way you can have zero risk is to goaroundthe water.- Cyrille Simard, Edmundston mayor

CyrilleSimardspoke as an intervener on behalf of the City of Edmundstonat the NEB hearings in Fredericton Monday, alongwith representatives from theNew Brunswick government, theNew Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council, MiramichiValley Business Association andmayors of Plaster Rocker and Upper Miramichi.

"The only way you can have zero risk is to goaroundthe water," Simard told reporters outside the hearings aboutthe proposed pipeline route.

"We'll have to move on and keep asking [questions]," Simard said.

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The hearings on the Energy East pipeline, which would carry crude from the Albertaoilsandsto theIrivingOil refinery in Saint John, will visit 7 other communities along the proposed route.

Simardhad about 20 minutes to address TransCanada officials at Monday's hearings.

He focused on asking whythe route goes under the watershed near Edmundston, whereas that isn't the case in Quebec. He also wanted to know whether TransCanada had evaluated another route going around the watershed, and how TransCanada would respond to a spill.

TransCanadaofficialssaidthe pipeline route is based on practical construction methods that would pose the fewer adverse effects.

The company also referencedits57 pipeline valves in the province that officials said wouldisolate sections of the route in the case of a spill.

Edmundston'scity council votedunanimously in April to ask the NEBto divert the project away from the watershed for the Iroquois River, which the city relies on as its mainmunicipal water source.

Simardsaid heexpects to get answers to his questions as the NEB process unfolds over the next several months.

Pipeline vs.rail

After Simard spoke, another New Brunswick mayorvoiced a staunchly different viewon the pipeline.

Alexis Fenner, the mayor of Plaster Rock, spoke about how two train derailments near the village factored into her decision to support the pipeline.

"With both accidents having the potential to have been a major disaster within the village limits, it's only common sense to look at safer methods of moving oil across this country," Fenner said.

Fenneralso referred toherbackground in the oil and gas sector. She said she workedintheoilpatchinSaskatchewan and as a transport manager in the U.K.

The Plaster Rock mayordecided not to ask TransCanada any questions about the pipeline. She said any concerns from the villagehad already been answered through consultations with TransCanada and her own research.

Fenner emphasized the need for jobs in the community.

"We've talked this subject to death, we've got to start building," said Fenner.

Provincial government questions

The New Brunswick government was the first intervener on the schedule in Fredericton.

Two government representatives asked TransCanada several questions, including details of the company'scontingency plan and whether there were any farming restrictions along the route.

TransCanada said it has a backup centre about 20 kilmetresaway from its main control centre in Calgary and that it's developing an emergency contingency planand will be sharing itwith provincial officials.

TransCanada also said traditional farming along the route is no problem, but no permanent structures or water wells can be built or establishedalong the route.

Premier Brian Gallant has voiced strong support for the Energy East pipeline.

Monday's proceedings follow the start of the NEB hearings in Saint John last week.

The NEB will continue to hear from interveners in New Brunswick's capital tomorrow, which will be the last day of hearings in New Brunswick.