Thursday, December 13, 2007
Fort Howe Hotel
Claude MacKinnon, Co-Chair
Susan Harris
Gordon Dalzell
Carmel McCaig
Al McDougall
Ellen Murphy
Horst Sauerteig
Christine Saumure
Midge Thompson
David Peterson
Regrets:
Mike MacIntyre (Co-Chair), Brian Fitzpartick, Tammy Calvin, John Kellock
Guest:
Laura Randall- Environmental Inspector with the National Energy Board.
Laura sat in on the meeting as an observer and representative of NEB.
The agenda was accepted as presented.
The minutes were accepted without changes.
One action item remains: having a representative from the City of Saint John sit on the committee. Susan has contacted Peter Hanlon; however he has been away, so she will touch base with him early in the new year.
Susan gave a presentation on Landowner relations on behalf of John Kellock, Right of way Supervisor for Brunswick Pipeline who regretted that he could not make the meeting. Susan explained the Letter of Commitment document and gave a copy to anyone who didn’t have one. The Letter of Commitment document includes the most effective ways to deal with landowners and to assist in continued communication with the public, particularly people who are directly impacted by the pipeline and it’s routes. Once the detailed route is approved, the relationship between the landowners and Brunswick Pipeline continues with door to door communication taking place, if necessary.
The conversations with landowners are detailed on contact forms and placed in a binder for future reference to keep accurate track of conversations that take place between the landowners and Brunswick Pipeline for reference in the future if any problems with landowners arise. The Letter of Commitment document has been accepted by the National Energy Board as a working document and is used as a tracking system.
John Kellock will be asked to provide more detailed information and possibly an official presentation in the new year.
Concerns were raised at this time in regards to the close proximity of the pipeline to private homes, schools, which includes changes in bus routes, traffic delays, etc. A particular concern with the Ridgeway Veterans Building was voiced. A possible presentation on the Emergency Response Plans including a more detailed look at impact zones was requested. A suggestion was also made to given the public 120 days as opposed to only 60 days to prepare the Emergency Response Plan. Susan indicated that she would pass these concerns and requests for information on to the correct people.
(Update and Information given by Susan)
* Hearings will begin in January on objections approved by NEB. These hearings will take place at the Fort Howe Hotel in Saint John.
* Fencing and clearing as well as any other work in relation to the pipeline will stop for the Christmas holidays on December 21, 2007 and will resume January 3rd, 2008. The 1-888 information phone line will be monitored for calls.
* Clearing has begun in Rockwood Park at the Sandy Point Road end. Trees and stumps are being removed and filters around waterways and siltation are being put into place. Clearing of the old Martin property in Milford has begun, particularly on the site of the old incinerator site. Clearing has taken place in St. Stephen as far up towards Saint John as Dennis Stream. Process has slowed down because of the snow.
* A Street Crossing document was handed out indicating street crossings, which include 23 city roads/streets. Thee streets highlighted in yellow are private roads and those in green are provincial roads.
* First Nations Contractors have been clearing the lands. Concerns were raised as to how many are citizens of Saint John. Total numbers are unknown; however, some outside workers and contractors are required since there are not a lot of companies in Saint John with the equipment, the specialties or the manpower at this time.
* A three year project is planned to construct a trail around Rockwood Park and Lily Lake which will make the lands wheelchair accessible and easier to walk on, with smoothed terrain and not as many hills to climb. This trail will also include a boardwalk.
Correspondence of Horst Sauerteig and Propsed Process
Horst gave an overview of his concerns and the contents of his letter to Emera and the National Energy Board. He has made a suggestion that horizontal directional drilling take place at the Millidge Avenue and Boars Head Road pipeline crossing because of the possibility of a vapour gas leak coming up through the asphalt and entering into basements of houses nearby causing potential explosions. The NEB suggested that he bring his concern to the Committee, thus his presentation; and because he is not a landowner affected directly by the pipeline, he is unable to appeal to the NEB for a change of routing. Susan made an offer to Horst on behalf of Brunswick Pipeline that Horst sit down with some technical people from the construction side to talk about his concerns. A written summary of the results of this meeting will be bought back to the Committee at a meeting in the future.
Susan advised the group that planned tours of different sites may be possible, however, the Committee has been asked to call Susan before visiting the sites because of certain safety restrictions. Safety equipment will be required in order to visit the sites. A joint tour of the route is also possible with the Southern New Brunswick Community Liaison Committee as some crossings will be interesting to see because they may be more difficult than others.
Thursday, January 17, 2008, 6 p.m., Fort Howe Hotel
Download Minutes (PDF, 52 Kb)