Learn More about Detailed Route Hearings

What is a Detailed Route?

When the Government of Canada approved the Trans Mountain Expansion project in 2016, it approved a 150 metre-wide corridor. The company must now establish the exact route its pipeline will travel. Trans Mountain cannot begin construction until land rights are acquired, the route is approved, and the Plans, Profiles, and Books of Reference dare deposited at the registry of deeds or land titles office.

Trans Mountain has filed its proposed Plan, Profile, and Book of Reference with the NEB for approval. A “plan and profile” is a detailed drawing of the pipeline as seen from above (aerial view) and from the side (profile view) showing the exact proposed location of the pipeline. The “book of reference” identifies the lands, provides the names of the landowners and land occupants, and shows the dimensions (length, width and total area) of the right-of-way required for the pipeline. Trans Mountain has divided its proposed Plan, Profile and Book of Reference into seven segments. The map below provides an overview of the location of the seven segments.

Trans Mountain was required to serve a written notice to landowners whose lands would be crossed by the pipeline. Trans Mountain also published notices in local newspapers along the pipeline route. See Appendix 1 in A83736-1 [document 3268447] for a list of publications and publication dates. The notices included a map and a list of the lands proposed to be crossed by the pipeline. The notices also explained how to file statements of opposition to the proposed detailed route with the Board.

People who anticipate that their lands may be adversely affected by the proposed detailed route of a pipeline, whether their lands are directly on the pipeline route or not, may file statements of opposition based on the location of the pipeline or facility, or the methods of timing or construction. If the Board finds that a statement of opposition meets the requirements of the NEB Act, there will be a detailed route hearing.

Once Trans Mountain’s last notice was published on June 6, 2017, landowners and affected people had 30 days to file a Statement of Opposition with the Board.

Detailed Route Hearings

The NEB will hold detailed route hearings for those landowners or affected persons who filed statements of opposition that met the requirements of the NEB Act. It’s important to note that a detailed route hearing is not intended to reexamine whether or not the project should be approved. The Board will only consider the issues related to the exact location and construction of the route. The purpose is to determine whether the company has proposed the best possible detailed route for the pipeline and the most appropriate methods and timing for building it.

For general information on the Detailed Route Approval Process, please visit Chapter 4 of the NEB’s Landowners Guide.

Detailed Route Hearings

Segment	Hearing Dates & Locations	Hearing Orders	Transcripts	Decisions
Segments 1 & 2 (Edmonton, AB – Hinton, AB)	November 20 – 22, 2017 – Hinton, AB November 24 – 26, 2017 – Edson, AB December 1 – 2, 2017 – Spruce Grove, AB	[Filing A85764]	[Folder 3351085]	Decision to Gerald Stroud [Filing A89819] Decision to Cribb Construction Ltd. [Filing A89820] Decision to Dianne Murray [Filing A89821] Decision to Victoria Maitland and John Gordon McKay [Filing A89822]
Segments 3 & 4	February 27-28, 2018 March 5-9, 2018	[Filing A87886]	Not yet available	Not yet available
Segments 5	TBD	[Filing A89487]	Not yet available	Not yet available
Segment 6	TBD	Not yet available	Not yet available	Not yet available
Segment 7	January 22 – January 31, 2018 March 12 - 21, 2018	[Filing A86549]	Hearing Transcripts [Folder 3422542]	Decision to David John Huntley [Filing A90021] Decision to City of Burnaby [Filing A90020]

Approved Sections of the Route

On November 20, 2017, the NEB approved approximately 150 km of detailed route plans in Segment 3 and Segment 4 where no statements of opposition were received. Trans Mountain must now file the NEB-approved Plans, Profiles and Books of Reference with the offices of the appropriate registrar of deeds (or land titles).

Before beginning construction, the company must satisfy all applicable NEB pre-construction conditions. Canadians can monitor Trans Mountain’s condition compliance through the NEB’s interactive condition compliance tracker.

Detailed Route Hearings

Segment	Total length of segment	Total length of route approved	% approved
1	48.975 km	42.329 km	86%
2	289.05 km	228.339 km	79%
3	118.485 km	95.2 km	80%
4	153.916 km	77.626 km	50%
5	269.563 km	114.882 km	43%
6	80.144 km	0 km	0%
7	27.771 km	3.396 km	12%

Map

Trans Mountain has filed individual PPBoRs for all segments. You can access all individual segment maps on the maps index

Maps index