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Home > Public Participation and Land Matters > Participant Funding Program > Fact Sheet - National Energy Board (NEB) Participant Funding Program: Supporting Public Participation in the NEB's Regulatory Process for Oral Facility Hearings

Fact Sheet - National Energy Board (NEB) Participant Funding Program: Supporting Public Participation in the NEB's Regulatory Process for Oral Facility Hearings

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Fact sheet [PDF 283 KB]

The NEB's Participant Funding Program

The Participant Funding Program supports public participation in oral public hearings that are held under the National Energy Board Act.

The Program will apply to the NEB's regulatory process for oral facility hearings. These applications consist of the majority of the facility hearings held by the NEB, and include applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity for pipelines or power lines, exempting orders respecting pipelines, and abandonment of pipelines or power lines.

Eligible Recipients

Eligible recipients include individuals, Aboriginal groups, landowners, incorporated non-industry not-for-profit organizations, or other interest groups who seek to intervene in the public review process for projects in which they have a meaningful interest. Eligible recipients must be able to demonstrate that they meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Have a direct, local interest in the project, such as living or owning property near the project area;
• Have local community insights and/or Aboriginal traditional knowledge respecting to the proposed project;
• Have an interest in potential project impacts on treaty lands, settlement lands or traditional territories and/or related claims and rights; or
• Plan to provide expert information respecting the mandate and decisions of the NEB on proposed projects.

All approved recipients will be required to register for intervenor status in the oral public hearing and sign a Standard Contribution Agreement before funding will be released.

Eligible Activities

Contributions may be provided for the following eligible activities:

• Activities associated with coordinating the collaboration of interested parties to the hearing;
• Review and provision of comments on the draft List of Issues and scope of the environmental assessment to be considered during the hearing;
• Review of the application and Environmental Impact Statement submitted by the project proponent; and
• Preparation for and participation in hearings convened by the NEB, or a review panel, to consider the proposed project.

Eligible Expenses

The Participant Funding Program is intended to support an eligible recipient's participation in the NEB's regulatory process for oral facility hearings. It is not meant to cover all expenses incurred by the participant throughout the process. Eligible expenses may include fees for expert advice, travel expenses, purchase of relevant information materials, information collection costs, among others. Program funding is limited and not all applications will be successful.

Determining How Much Funding is Available

The total amount of funding available for a hearing will be determined on the basis of the following factors:

• The potential effects of the project;
• The size and location of the project;
• The number of Aboriginal groups in the area;
• The diversity of issues likely to be involved in the project hearing;
• Participant funding levels that may have been established for similar projects in the past; and
• Available resources.

In establishing the funding level, the NEB will consider the principle that recipients will collaborate to share costs wherever possible and appropriate.

Applying for Funds

Applicants must complete an Application for Funding Form and send it to the NEB's Participant Funding Program administrator. The deadline for applications is normally 60 days following the announcement from the Board of the funding available to a given regulatory process for an oral facility hearing. Successful applicants must sign a standard contribution agreement and submit a request for payment with supporting documentation before they can receive the funds.

Awarding of Funds

The NEB establishes an independent Funding Review Committee (FRC) for each project where Participant Funding is available. The FRC will review the applications and make recommendations to the NEB's Chief Operation Officer (COO) on funding allocations.

Decisions on the amount of recipient funding will be based on the following:

• Project funding available;
• The nature of the right or interest of the applicant;
• The scope of the interest or concern the applicant has in the proposed project;
• The potential impact of the proposed project on the right or interest of the applicant;
• Anticipated usefulness of the planned activity to the regulatory process; and,
• Reasonableness of proposal, work plan and costs.

The COO makes the final decision on funding awards. The Participant Funding Program Administrator informs all applicants within three days of the COO's funding decision. Funding decisions will also be announced with a News Release, and on the NEB's website. The report of the FRC will be published on the NEB's website.

Public Participation

As a Canadian energy regulator the NEB is responsible for ensuring that energy supplies are connected to consumers in a safe and responsible way, and in a way that protects the environment, and the rights of those affected.

The Participant Funding Program supports public participation that contributes to an open, balanced process and strengthens the quality and credibility of the regulatory review process.

For more information on the Participant Funding Program, consult the Program Guide and /or FAQs on the NEB's website at www.neb-one.gc.ca, or contact the Board at 1-800-899-1265.

 

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Date Modified:

2012-02-01