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Hearing scheduled to consider the Brunswick Pipeline Wet Crossing Application

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08/12
For immediate release
17 March 2008

CALGARY - The National Energy Board (NEB) will hold a public hearing to consider an application by Emera Brunswick Pipeline Company Ltd. (Brunswick Pipeline) for a wet crossing as an alternative method for crossing the Saint John River.

If approved, the wet crossing proposal would become part of the Brunswick Pipeline project. The wet crossing project was submitted as a contingency and would only be carried out in the event that the planned horizontal directional drilling (HDD) program proves to be technically unfeasible.

This new project consists of the construction, operation and maintenance of a concrete-coated 762-millimetre pipeline to be installed in a 650-metre long trench measuring approximately 100 metres in width.

Unlike the HDD method which requires drilling underneath the riverbed, the wet crossing proposal involves trenching through the banks and across the river bottom for the pipeline installation.

The start date for the wet crossing project would only be set once it has been determined by Brunswick Pipeline that the HDD method will not be successful. The project construction schedule would also take into account the river's environmental considerations. The company has estimated that the project could require a four month construction period.

Should the HDD method fail, the proposed wet crossing would use the same approved location. The footprint would include the banks located in both the Pokiok (Spar Cove) and Milford areas adjacent to the river.

The NEB has identified the following issues to be discussed during the proceeding:

The potential environmental and socio-economic effects of the proposed facilities;
The need for the proposed facilities and their design suitability; and
The terms and conditions to be included in any approval the Board may issue.

The hearing is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m., on Wednesday, 21 May 2008, in Saint John, New Brunswick, at a location yet to be determined.

People interested in the public hearing can participate in one of three ways:

by seeking intervenor status;
by filing a letter of comment; or
by making an oral statement to the Board.

Any person wishing to intervene in the hearing must file an application by noon (MDT), on Friday, 28 March 2008, with the Secretary of the Board at the following address:

Ms. Claudine Dutil-Berry
Secretary of the Board
National Energy Board
444 Seventh Avenue S.W.
Calgary, AB T2P 0X8
Facsimile: 403-292-5503

Any person wishing to submit a letter of comment or request permission to make an oral statement must do so by noon (MDT), on Friday, 18 April 2008.

On-line forms for all three ways to participate are also available on the NEB's Internet site at www.neb-one.gc.ca. In the right margin, select "View or Submit a Regulatory Document", scroll down and click on "Submit documents electronically" and then select the form that suits your purpose.

The NEB is an independent federal agency that regulates several parts of Canada's energy industry. Its purpose is to promote safety and security, environmental protection, and efficient energy infrastructure and markets in the Canadian public interest, within the mandate set by Parliament in the regulation of pipelines, energy development and trade.

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For further information:

Carole Léger-Kubeczek
Communications Officer
National Energy Board
E-mail: carole.leger-kubeczek@neb-one.gc.ca
Telephone: 403-299-2717
Telephone (toll free): 1-800-899-1265
Telecopier: 403-292-5503
Telecopier (toll free): 1-877-288-8803
TTY (Teletype): 1-800-632-1663

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