TransCanada vows to comply with NEB ruling on Bay of Fundy tanker traffic

TransCanadaCorp. is vowing to continue working with Bay of Fundy groups about the issue of increased tanker traffic in the region if the National Energy Board approves the company's request to buildthe Energy East pipeline project, according to an official.

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick asked the regulatoryboard this week at its hearings in Saint John to clarify what it considers to be the impact zone of the proposedpipeline project and how the Bay of Fundy factors into the discussion.

Tim Duboyce, a spokesman for TransCanada, said the company has looked at the potential impact of increased tanker traffic in the Bay of Fundy if the Energy East project moves forward.

"Our position is that additional ship traffic in the Bay ofFundywill bring total traffic near levels in past years," said TimDuboyce, spokesman forTransCanada.

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Documents filed byCalgary-basedTransCanadaproject 281 oil tanker visits per year to the Energy East marine terminal atCanaport.

In 2014,there were 835 vessel calls at the Port of Saint John, more than 200 fewer ships than called in 2002.

"We are engaged in looking at the potential impacts of shipping traffic and working with partners to address issues and ensure the protection of marine life and habitat," saidDuboyce.

"That engagement is ongoing and will continue during the planning process and throughout the operation of the pipelineand port terminal."

A three-member National Energy Boardpanel started its hearings intothe $15.7 billion Energy East project this week in Saint John, where the oil that would be shipped through the proposedpipelinewould be refined.

Energy East is a proposed 4,600-kilometre pipeline thatwould stretch from Alberta to an export terminal in New Brunswick and could carry up to1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day.

Groups concerned about tanker traffic

Groups were pressuring the regulatory board to explain how it would factor in increased tanker traffic in the Bay of Fundy as it considers the Energy East pipeline project.

"The truth is that a ship that size takes 10nautical miles to stop," said Colin Sproul, spokesman for the Fundy Inshore Fishermen's Association, a Nova Scotia group.

"It's incredibly important that the National Energy Board would weigh those risks as well. That [the Bay of Fundy] is part of Canada just as much as that pipeline crossing through the country."