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When the board eventually approved the proposal, it tacked on 30 conditions, mainly dealing with engineering and safety concerns. The approval generated some vocal arguments from the opposition, but the conditions were just as contentious, revealing deep divides over the aging infrastructure’s ability to take on its new assignment. “The conditions are very, very thorough,” says Warren Mabee, assistant professor at Queen’s University’s School of Policy Studies and the Department of Geography in Kingston, Ont. “They run the full gamut from technical testing to working with the municipalities up and down the line. I do think many of the issues that people have raised prior to the conditional approval have been addressed in the conditions in the approval for Line 9.”

But the conditions didn’t do much to allay concerns for critics of the project. “None of the 30 conditions address the specific requests by the government of Ontario, the municipalities or environmental groups,” says Adam Scott, climate and energy program manager at Environmental Defence, a green action organization based in Toronto. “Most of the conditions are things they are legally required to do in terms of basic safety. There are no real new safety measures.”

It’s bigger than the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, bigger than the Northern Gateway

Energy East, meanwhile, is still in its infancy, so those who might oppose it don’t have many details to hang an argument on just yet. It’s also massive in scope, which means a singular community is less likely to feel Energy East is its own to embrace or fight. “It’s bigger than the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, bigger than the Northern Gateway,” Mabee says. “It involves a lot more players, a lot more activity, and many governments because it crosses so many provinces.” That pretty much guarantees a rough reception, especially since a proposed path would take the pipeline through some very sensitive areas. “There are watersheds, First Nations communities and other groups, all of whom have legitimate concerns and a need to walk through this process,” Mabee says. “They need to be involved.”