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Over 300
Attend El Paso Meeting! by
Shelly Hipson September 26th, 2002 Shelburne, N.S. - Over 300 people, from several communities in the region, crowded into the local community hall to hear a presentation from El Paso Corporation on the Blue Atlantic Project. El Paso, the largest natural gas company in the United States, based out of Houston, Texas plans to develop a new subsea 750 mile pipeline. The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Scotian Shelf to a $400 million liquid handling plant in the fishing community of East Jordan, located between the towns of Shelburne and Lockeport in Shelburne County. "Once the gas is cleaned up it will head back off shore to the U.S.," said Jack Lucido, Vice President of Major Projects Engineering with El Paso Pipeline. Construction is planned for 2006-2007, with operations commencing late 2007. The majority of the citizens, who confronted members of the El Paso Corporation panel, expressed concerns about air quality and how the project might affect the fisheries and jobs. "We don’t want it," came a yell from the back of the room, added by, "We're just going to be a dumping station for the States." Several dozen people wore surgical masks as emission graphs were displayed and levels of nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide were explained by El Paso officials. Kim Anderson, a biologist and mother of two from the Lockeport area asked for clarification of the graph and what the levels would mean to the health of her children. El Paso stated that the emission levels would be much lower than Canadian standards, but there was no monitoring of current emission levels. The impact of a sub-sea pipeline on the lobster industry and a compensation plan for fishermen were discussed by El Paso. Company officials suggested that it would take more than a year for the sea bed in the area to re-establish following construction. El Paso is gathering information on how the physical barrier of a pipeline and its vibration may affect lobster behavior. Chris Cottreau, a local fisherman, questioned how they were planning to study the behavior of such an elusive creature, when fisherman and government scientists have been trying to determine lobster behaviour for years. Lucido concluded by suggesting that El Paso Canada Pipeline is committed to being a good neighbour in Shelburne County. "We would like to work with the community," he said. Between 1,200 and 1,300 jobs are proposed during the construction phase of the project, with 40 to 45 people expected to be employed at the handling plant on a permanent basis.
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