The Fort spoke, and the government listened.
Due to a number of people writing to request an information session in Fort St. James for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Joint Review process, the government has added another stop.
An information session will now be held on June 21, 2011 at the Stuart Lake Seniors Recreation Centre from 7-9 p.m.
The Joint Review panel is an independent body mandated as part of the approval process for the project by the Minister of the Environment and the National Energy Board.
It will be looking for input from members of communities potentially impacted by the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.
These initial meetings throughout June are not for presentations from the public but are meant to explain the review panel process and explain how people can participate in the process.
Members of the actual review panel will not be attending the information sessions, and while people will not have an opportunity to present their views or concerns regarding the project, they will be provided forms to register to present at the hearings, which will begin in January.
“We want to hear from everyone who has an interest in the project,” said Jaclyn Silbernagel, communications officer for the National Energy Board.
Where the panel hearings are held will be determined by the levels of interest in certain locations. Interest will be measured by different factors, including the number of people registered to present to the board in an area.
People wanting to present to the panel can also register online at http://gatewaypanel.review-examen.gc.ca/clf-nsi/hm-eng.html or send letters to the panel.
The review panel will be compiling input on the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.
The projects proposes two 1,170 km pipelines between Bruderheim, Alberta and a marine terminal in Kitimat, B.C.
The pipeline from east to west would send bitumen, a precursor of crude oil, mixed with what they call diluent. Diluent is what thins the thick, unrefined bitumen enough to pump it through the pipeline.
The pipeline from west to east would return the diluent to be reused.
The diluent itself is made up of different hydrocarbons which are the lighter components of oil such as benzene, forms of naphtha and pentane. While benzene especially is a high-risk carcinogen, and forms of naphtha are carcinogenic, they are also found in gasoline,