New Brunswick consulting engineers support crude oil pipeline

The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – New Brunswick (ACEC-NB) is backing the Energy East Pipeline project. Nadine Boudreau, executive director of had a letter published in the Telegraph Journal on November 6, in which she pointed out that their members have have expertise and technical knowledge in pipelines and that they “hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and the protection of the environment.”

The Energy East Pipeline is being proposed by TransCanada as a 4,600 pipeline to carry crude oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to existing refineries in Eastern Canada. The planned starting point is a new tank terminal in Hardisty, Alberta, with other new terminals in Saskatchewan, Québec City and Saint John, N.B.. The line will also include a section between Burstall, Saskatchewan and Cornwall, Ontario that will be converted from a natural gas pipeline to carry oil. The pipeline’s exact route still has to undergo public and regulatory review.

In her supporting letter, Boudreau wrote: “Engineers attempt to minimize the amount of topographic elevation change and pipeline length, while choosing paths that are accessible for construction and maintenance. Design engineers ensure safety and minimize routes that could impact municipal water systems, densely populaed areas, and/or environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands or rivers.”