The Alberta Court of Appeal made the right move to overturn part of a provincial decision allowing a pipeline to be built within 320 metres of Eden Valley.
It’s now up to the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) to do what the court could not and give Eden Valley reserve the protection it deserves.
The court has told the ERCB to take another look at a decision not to treat Eden Valley as an urban area when it approved a sour gas pipeline through the eastern slopes proposed by Suncor in 2010.
The approved route for the pipeline would see it pass within 320 metres of the reserve’s west boundary, 500 meters from the nearest home.
It’s too close for comfort for the Bearspaw First Nation that had sought to be treated as an urban area, which would require the pipeline to be built within 1.5 kilometres of the community.
The board decided the reserve did not qualify as an urban area under its regulations because of its low density of less than eight residences per quarter section.
The court rightly recognized there’s more to a community than its density and criticized the board for not using its full discretion when looking at Eden Valley.
Eden Valley includes has about 100 separate homes with approximately 650 residents as well as a school, arena, a wellness centre and other buildings in a small area.
As part of its decision, the court also noted Eden Valley meets several criteria in the Municipal Government Act to recognize a hamlet and a village.
However, the court didn’t go so far as to designate Eden Valley as an urban area because it doesn’t have the authority to do so. It put the question back in the hands of the ERCB to determine an appropriate distance to build the pipeline away from the reserve.
The Eden Valley community deserves adequate protection in the event of a leak from the sour gas pipeline. The board has already recognized the risk the pipeline could pose to the remote Eden Valley community. In its 2010 decision, it required Suncor to ensure each home on the reserve had a safe room residents could go to in the event of a gas leak.
While Suncor officials say there are not current plans to build the pipeline board has a second chance to get the plan right and give Eden Valley the protection it deserves.
