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Rapport d'étude appronfondie Projet de prolongement du gazoduc TQM de Lachenaie à East Hereford

Norman Benoit
Ayer's Cliff, PQ

Letter to CEAA

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
200 Sacré-Coeur Blvd
Hull, Qc, K1A OH3

Further to your public notice on the above I enclose my comments on the above report. Also enclosed is a photocopy of a news paper article indicating public response to the project.

I have not yet received a reply to my fax dated March 9th. Your answers would undoubtedly have been pertinent to the issue.

As you are already aware, your announcements of March 4th in the Sherbrooke Record and the Stanstead Journal indicated the deadline for public comments as March 16th instead of March 18th. A telephone call to these newspapers informed me that they had not had any instructions from the CEAA to rectify. I sincerely hope that these will be the only errors in this file.

You will undoubtedly notice that my comments are similar in tone to the general public response in that they show lack of confidence in TQM Pipeline and in the government agencies. The reason can be easily explained. The BAPE respected the laws governing it and produced a report worthy of it's reputation of impartiality. The BAPE report accurately shows what was revealed during their hearings. It should be noted that there was little proof of an alternate route through Highwater, and TQM constantly denied it's existence. The CPTAQ and the National Energy Board on the other hand issued reports failed to mention TQM's inability to reply to input from the public. We had expected these government agencies to protect the public, but their reports are misleading and seem to have been written under pressure from higher up to approve the project at all costs, political or otherwise, hence the feeling that our input was wasted.

This is my first involvement with this type of project, and I may be missing some of the finer subtleties in the proceedings which should give me hope. Nevertheless, I have written my comments under the impression that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is no different than the National Energy Board, and that it has already written it's report.

Yours truly
(signed) Norman Benoit


Commentary on
Comprensive Study Report
Tqm Pipeline Lachanie to East Hereford

This report prepared by the National Energy Board accurately reports the information submitted by Gazoduc TQM in it's application for a permit. That information, however, is full of misinformation as a result of errors, inaccuracies, and omissions.

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is what we have now. A corridor going through our country side where houses will not be built and trees not allowed to grow is not sustainable development. Emergency measures are not sustainable development, and neither are mitigations which don't always work. The risks which will be imposed on the environment and the public are not sustainable development.

It seems that someone (probably the contractors and sub-contractors for the project) is determined that the best route is the longest and most expensive one. If this is to be forced down the population's throat, then the most obvious has been missed. The pipeline should be installed in the center of the autoroutes, where all the environmental damage has already been done. This would add the least possible stress to the environment.

Detailed Route Hearings

A point of utmost inportance which has not been raised concerns the approval of the detailed route should TQM get approval. The affected property owners, not wanting the pipeline on their properties, could not afford the luxury of discussing where the pipeline could be placed on their land. TQM would have used this as proof that property owners had accepted the pipeline just as it did with the Memphremagog MRC. As it stands, the property owners have not had their say as to where the pipeline should go on their land.

If the PNGTS Extension is approved, it is imperative that the National Energy Board hold a detailed routing hearing for those property owners who have not signed an agreement with TQM. If it is obliged to accept the Comprehensive Study Report despite it's shortcomings, the CEAA must give such a directive to NEB.


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