Several months ago, I posted about the AER hearing initiated by Qualico Developments asking the AER to order 50/50 cost sharing for the engineering and construction costs required to modify three oil and gas pipelines that are in the path of road upgrades.
Last week the AER released their decision which can be found here https://lnkd.in/gppkKJi4
The Decision noted the emergent public policy issue with respect to land use conflict between pipeline owners and developers. This is especially true in regions like the Heartland, with very dense oil and gas infrastructure, and increasing demand for housing and commercial development. While the AER noted they had the ability to make a determination of “public interest” and that there was precedent to order costs sharing, they did not order it in this case. They further suggested that Section 33 of the Pipeline Act is not the appropriate tool for resolving conflicts between pipeline owners and developers. Instead, other legislative, regulatory and commercial mechanisms are better suited.
As a result of this Decision, developers may want to modify their due diligence when acquiring lands with existing pipelines. Previous assumptions around costs for altering or relocating pipelines may no longer be valid. Additionally, pipeline owners may want to review future development plans (e.g., area structure plans, outline plans) when routing new pipelines to avoid future conflict.
EXP has an experienced land development and energy team who can help at the pre-acquisition stage and/or pipeline routing stage to avoid future land use conflict.
