Joint Review Panel rejects call for long-term impact assessment

The panel reviewing the environmental and social impact of the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline has rejected two environmental groups' motion to hire an independent firm to assess the project's long-term repercussions.

In adecision made publicJuly 13, Joint Review Panel chairman Robert Hornal said the motion by the Sierra Club of Canada and the World Wildlife Fund raises a number of issues that will be discussed at the panel's next hearing, scheduled for Aug. 27-31 in Yellowknife.

The two organizations made the motion in early June, asking the panel to study the cumulative effects of gas development in the Mackenzie Valley in the Northwest Territories.

The motion delayed the panel's release of its final hearing schedule for a month. With the decision made, the panel announced its upcoming hearings: in Yellowknife Sept. 26-28 and Inuvik Nov. 6-8.

The panel also announced its last hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20 in Inuvik. The final deadline for written comments to the panel is Nov. 21.