National Energy Board Meets with NOMA

THUNDER BAY – POLITICS – The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) met with Peter Watson and a team from the National Energy Board today at Thunder Bay City Hall. The meeting was part of a new program from the NEB toward getting out and engaging directly with municipalities.

The National Energy Board (NEB) are hosting pipeline safety forums across Canada to discuss emerging safety and environmental protection issues with stakeholders from across Canada. From Thunder Bay the next session will be in Kenora.

The NEB states, “The 2015 Pipeline Safety Forum is featuring several expert speakers that will focus on: an open exchange of information on technical pipeline issues; an increased shared awareness of stakeholder concerns; and, opportunities that both industry and regulators can take to improve safety outcomes to better protect people, property and the environment.

“The forum comes at the conclusion of the NEB’s first-ever cross-Canada engagement initiative. Through the engagement initiative NEB Board Chair, Peter Watson, has engaged with Canadians in 27 cities, across nine provinces and two territories. The forum will continue that national engagement and the NEB’s leadership role on emerging safety and environmental protection issues”.

Peter Watson, the CEO of the National Energy Board says that it is important for the public to see that the board is out there, not just during regulatory hearings.

Northwestern Ontario communities have had some concerns over what would happen in the event of a pipeline spill of oil or natural gas in our region.

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