National Energy Board
The National Energy Board(NEB) is the federal agency that regulates international and interprovincial oil, gas and electric utility industries. In the wake of the Gulf disaster, it launched a review of the safety and environmental requirements for offshore exploration and development in the Arctic. The agency is expected to table its recommendations in the fall of 2011 after consultations with northern communities and interested stakeholders.WWF is working with the NEB to ensure that a disaster of the Gulf magnitude, or any large spill, never happens in the wild, fragile waters of Canada’s north, and that if it does, we can clean it up. All offshore petroleum activity involves risk but there are places and circumstances where it’s unmanageable. Where it’s considered manageable, processes and training would be implemented beforehand.
Represented by legal counsel Ecojustice, we are participating in the review, making substantive submissions that call for:
- The identification of particularly sensitive areas where wildlife should be protected from drilling.
- The creation of a new framework to govern how offshore petroleum development is conducted, if, when and where it is allowed.
- Improvement to our capacity to deal with spills when they occur.
Our contribution to the NEB process is taking several forms. First of all, we’re providing factual information and analysis to inform the matters under review by the NEB. This includes researching and synthesizing existing information. At the same time, we’re offering a rigorous assessment and analysis of the information submitted by other participants. We also anticipate that we’ll participate directly in the public hearings to take place later in 2012. Earlier this year we completed a report on Western Arctic oil spill response gaps. Our WWF-US office also commissioned anoil spill report.
To achieve its goals, WWF works with key government, indigenous and industry players. We place a high value on partnerships to resolve these complex issues, to build momentum and support as we together create the conditions for responsible industrial practice.