Ville De Gatineau studies pipeline rules as BAPE request stalls
Ville de Gatineau is studying how to regulate the proposed Buckingham hydrogen pipeline while it waits for Quebec to answer its request for a BAPE hearing. Maude Marquis-Bissonnette says the city is weighing its own rules as the file has sat for eight months.
The project would be the first 100 percent hydrogen pipeline in Outaouais. Enbridge Gaz wants to build and operate it over a maximum distance of 22 km, carrying gas from the ERCO Mondial plant in Buckingham to two local locations.
Marquis-Bissonnette on safety
Marquis-Bissonnette said the city has made very close follow-ups with the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks since September. She said, “Malheureusement, on n’obtient pas tout à fait les réponses qu’on souhaiterait.”
She also said, “une des possibilités, c’est que nous, la Ville, on se penche sur comment est-ce que dans notre réglementation, on est capable d’encadrer les hydrogénoducs? On n’est pas contre les hydrogénoducs. Mais encore faut-il s’assurer de la sécurité d’un projet comme celui-ci.” Marquis-Bissonnette added that “c’est une bonne idée de suivre le principe de précaution dans ce dossier.”
September vote in Gatineau
Gatineau city council voted unanimously in September to ask for a BAPE because of citizens’ safety concerns about the Enbridge Gaz Québec project. The city’s request came after the first public consultations on the project were held in Buckingham two years ago.
At the end of last summer, the ministry sent a written response to Radio-Canada saying no BAPE was possible because the file is not subject to the environmental impact assessment and review procedure. Since then, the province has changed environment ministers several times, and the request has still not moved ahead.
Leclerc resolution in June
Councillor Edmond Leclerc plans to table a resolution at the next municipal council meeting in June to frame high-pressure gas pipelines in residential areas. The city is still waiting for Quebec to act on the BAPE request, and the municipal response now appears to be moving onto local rules.
That leaves Gatineau with two tracks in the same file: a provincial request that has not advanced and a local effort to set limits for pipelines in residential neighborhoods. For residents in Buckingham, the immediate issue is whether the city uses its own powers before Quebec gives an answer.
