[Boblobla]

http://globalnews.ca/news/2481569/fe...oil-pipelines/

Federal government announces new rules for assessing oil pipelines

The Liberal government has released a broad outline of how it plans to start changing the way environmental assessments are done before major projects like pipelines get approved and built.

The National Energy Board, which conducts extensive reviews of projects and submits a report to the government, is expected to submit its final report to Ottawa on Trans Mountain in May. After that, the government will have seven, rather than four, months to make a final decision.

That extension will allow the government to undertake more consultations with First Nations communities and assess additional greenhouse gas emissions that could be associated with the project.

On Energy East, the government says it will seek an extension on two fronts. First, it will extend the legislated review time for the NEB by six months (to 21 months total) and then also extend the time Ottawa is given to make a final decision by three months (six in total).

Again, the additional time is to be used for more in-depth consultations with Aboriginal groups, greenhouse gas assessments and also to “help facilitate expanded public input.”

That means Energy East likely won’t have a firm answer until late 2018, 27 months after the NEB starts its assessment process, which may not happen until the summer.