The National Energy Board is not doing enough to track whether pipeline companies are complying with conditions set out when projects are approved, according to a new report by the federal commissioner of the environment and sustainable development.
The report, tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, warns that the national regulator needs to do more to keep track of pipeline projects, especially given the increased number of projects it is required to handle.
Julie Gelfand will brief the media in Ottawa about her fall 2015 report later this morning. CBC News will livestream the news conference starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The environment watchdog found the systems set up by the NEB to check whether companies are keeping their promises when building and operating pipelines are "outdated or inaccurate."
The compliance conditions are set by the NEB when a project is approved. They are often imposed on a project as a result of concerns raised during public hearings.
Conditions can range from employment requirements for aboriginal people to protection of the environment or safety testing of a pipeline.
Missing files, information
The report says that in the 49 cases it audited, there were 24 cases between 2000 and 2014 for which the tracking of the company's compliance was either out of date or files were missing.
The report says that in some cases, NEB had to go through a considerable manual search for files requested by the auditors.
In another file, the audit found that board had not tracked company compliance with a condition to study the environmental effects of a pipeline break near caribou habitat, despite the fact the condition was set a decade ago.
The report notes that despite an increase in funding, the NEB is having trouble hiring and keeping staff, and is facing an increased workload because of the number and complexity of new pipeline activities.
The report also says the NEB has managed to increase public access to information on pipeline incidents, but still needs to give Canadians more information about whether companies are complying with their pipeline approval conditions.
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