Quebec Seeks Injunction on TransCanada's Energy East Project

The Canadian province of Quebec said Tuesday that it would seek an injunction against TransCanada Corp.'s Energy East pipeline to ensure the proposed project meets provincial environmental guidelines.

Quebec Environment Minister David Heurtel said the action comes after TransCanada ignored requests that it submit the environmental impact study for the Quebec portion of the project for review by provincial regulators.

"Today's motion…signifies that whoever seeks to build a project in Quebec must comply with all Quebec laws and regulations. I clearly informed TransCanada Pipelines that it needed to table a project notice for Energy East. In the face of its neglect, the government has taken action," Mr. Heurtel said in a release.

A TransCanada spokesman wasn't immediately available for comment.

TransCanada has faced political pushback in Quebec for its proposed 15.7 billion Canadian dollar ($11.7 billion) project, a 1.1-billion-barrel-a-day pipeline that will carry crude oil from landlocked Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries on Canada's east coast. In January, Montreal's mayor and other municipal leaders voiced opposition to Energy East, arguing that the environmental risks of the pipeline passing through the province outweighed any economic benefits.

Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada's application for the project is under review by Canada's main energy regulator, the National Energy Board. In December, the company amended its application with a number of route changes in a bid to satisfy environmental and community concerns.

Energy East has been championed as a nation-building project that would benefit refineries in eastern Canada while helping address market-access challenges facing Canadian producers. But opponents argue the project would increase greenhouse gas emissions by allowing oil-sands producers to ramp up production.

In January, the country's federal government implemented tougher environmental review standards for pipelines, which require projects to submit to carbon-emissions testing. The interim measures were part of the government's plan for a broad overhaul of Canada's environmental-assessment process.

TransCanada aims to put its Energy East project into service in 2020.

Chester Dawson contributed to this article.

Write to Judy McKinnon at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 01, 2016 12:45 ET (17:45 GMT)

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