Filing Manual – Guide A – Facilities Applications

Table of Contents

1. A.4 – Lands Information
   1. Goal
   2. A.4.1 Filing Requirements – Land Areas
      1. Guidance – Land Areas
   3. A.4.2 Filing Requirements – Land Rights
      1. Guidance – Land Rights
      2. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
   4. A.4.3 Filing Requirements – Lands Acquisition Process
      1. Guidance – Lands Acquisition Process
   5. A.4.4 Filing Requirements – Land Acquisition Agreements
      1. Guidance – Lands Acquisition Agreements
   6. A.4.5 Filing Requirements – section 322 Notices
      1. Guidance – section 322 Notices
         1. Notice
         2. Exemption from section 199 of the CER Act
         3. Section 214 Application Conditions
         4. Lands not Acquired
   7. A.4.6 Filing Requirements – section 214 Application to Address a Complaint

A.4 – Lands Information

Goal

The application includes accurate documentation on land areas, land rights, the service of notice, the land acquisition process, and includes sample agreements and notices.

A.4.1 Filing Requirements – Land Areas

Ensure the land documentation includes the following:

1. the width of the RoW including the locations where the width varies;

2. the locations and dimensions of known temporary work space required for the project or, if locations are not known, a drawing showing the typical dimensions of the temporary work space required for road, watercourse and other crossings, storage areas and camps; and

3. the locations and dimensions of any new lands required for all associated facilities.

Guidance – Land Areas

A description of the requirements and rationale for both temporary and permanent lands allows the Commission to assess the appropriateness of the land areas. The description should include the dimensions of the:

• RoW;
• temporary working space;
• valve sites;
• cathodic beds;
• pole lines;
• access roads;
• meter stations; and
• facilities such as compressor or pumping stations.

Describe the location and distance of any changes to RoW width and the reasons for the change.

Where new lands under any type of agreement are not required for the project, this should be clearly stated in the application and no further land area information needs to be filed.

A.4.2 Filing Requirements – Land Rights

1. Provide a description of the type of land rights proposed to be acquired for the project and related facilities.

2. Provide a description of the nature and relative proportions of land ownership along the proposed route (i.e., freehold, Crown or public lands).

3. Where no new land rights are required, provide a description of the existing land rights that allow for the project.

Guidance – Land Rights

The description of the land rights will inform the Commission and landowners of the different types of land rights needed for the project (e.g., option, easement, fee simple, statutory RoW, temporary work space, permit or licence, etc.) and the areas where existing land rights allow for the project.

A description of the land ownership informs the Commission of the land acquisition areas and agreements required for the project.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

The CER fosters open and respectful discussion between parties affected by CER-regulated projects to settle issues that may arise between parties throughout the project lifecycle. The CER recognizes that a range of interest-based dispute resolution techniques, appropriate to the circumstance, are available and may be effective in dealing with such issues and disagreements. Interest-based techniques should be considered as alternative or complementary to traditional regulatory or litigated processes, such as the Detailed Route Hearing, and at the earliest opportunity for best results.

Parties are encouraged to consider ADR in their project planning and as soon as possible to resolve issues and manage conflict. CER staff with ADR specialization are available to assist stakeholders identify and design dispute resolution processes appropriate to their unique needs at any stage of the project.

A.4.3 Filing Requirements – Lands Acquisition Process

1. Provide a description of the proposed process for acquiring the lands required for the project.

2. Provide the timing of acquisition and the current status of acquisition.

3. Provide the status of service of notices on all owners of lands to be acquired pursuant to subsection 322(1) of the CER Act.

Guidance – Lands Acquisition Process

A description of the land acquisition process to be implemented will allow the Commission to assess the process and to be aware of the timing of acquisition.

The land acquisition information should describe the:

• numbers of landowners and tenants;
• numbers of option or easement agreements signed;
• numbers of notices served; and
• timing of service of remaining notices.

This information may be provided in a table form.

A.4.4 Filing Requirements – Land Acquisition Agreements

1. Provide a sample copy of each form of land acquisition agreement proposed to be used (includes option and easement). The agreement shall be in the form required by section 321(2) of the CER Act:

321 (2) A company must not acquire or lease lands for a pipeline under an agreement referred to in subsection (1) unless the agreement includes provision for

1. (a) compensation for the acquisition or lease of lands to be made, at the option of the owner of the lands, by one lump sum payment or by periodic payments of equal or different amounts over a specified period of time;
2. (b) review every five years of the amount of any compensation payable in respect of which periodic payments have been selected;
3. (c) compensation for damages caused by the company’s operations, pipelines or abandoned pipelines;
4. (d) indemnification from all liabilities, damages, claims, suits and actions resulting from the company’s operations, pipelines or abandoned pipelines, other than liabilities, damages, claims, suits and actions resulting from
   1. (i) in Quebec, the gross or intentional fault of the owner of the lands, and
   2. (ii) elsewhere in Canada, the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the owner of the lands;
5. (e) restriction of the use of the lands to the line of pipe or other facility for which the lands are, by the agreement, specified to be required unless the owner of the lands consents to any proposed additional use at the time of the proposed additional use;
6. (f) compensation to the owner of the lands if the use of those lands is restricted by the operation of section 335;
7. (g) compensation to the owner of the lands for any adverse effect on the remaining lands of the owner, including the restriction of their use by the operation of section 335; and
8. (h) any additional terms that are, at the time the agreement is entered into, required to be included in it by any regulations made under paragraph 333(d).

2. Provide a sample copy of any proposed agreements for:

• fee simple ownership;
• temporary work space;
• an access road; or
• other agreements for the lands required for the project.

Guidance – Lands Acquisition Agreements

A sample copy of the acquisition agreement(s) enables the Commission to verify that the agreement complies with the requirements of section 321 of the CER Act and that landowner’s rights are protected.

A.4.5 Filing Requirements – section 322 Notices

1. Provide a sample copy of the notice proposed to be served on all owners of land pursuant to subsection 322(1) of the CER Act:

322 (1) If a company has determined the lands that may be required for the purposes of a section or part of a pipeline, the company must serve a notice on all owners of the lands, to the extent that they can be ascertained, which notice must set out or be accompanied by

1. (a) a description of the lands of the owner that are required by the company for that section or part;
2. (b) details of the compensation offered by the company for the lands required;
3. (c) a detailed statement made by the company of the value of the lands required in respect of which compensation is offered;
4. (d) a description of the procedure for approval of the detailed route of the pipeline;
5. (e) a description of the procedure available under this Part in the event that the owner of the lands and the company are unable to agree on any matter respecting the compensation payable; and
6. (f) any prescribed information.

In addition, where an application will be filed pursuant to section 214 of the CER Act the notice should describe:

• the process for approval of the detailed route of the pipeline, and
• a statement that sections 201 to 206 of the CER Act will not apply in respect of the procedure for approval of the detailed route of the project.

Guidance – section 322 Notices

Notice

Viewing a sample copy of the notice assists the Commission in verifying that the notice complies with the requirements of subsection 322(1) of the CER Act and that landowners and others persons are adequately notified.

Exemption from section 199 of the CER Act

Where an application is filed pursuant to section 214 of the CER Act, the procedure for approval of the detailed route of the pipeline, as described in sections 201 to 206 of the CER Act, may not apply. In this situation, the subsection 322(1) notice will describe the procedure for approval of the detailed route of the pipeline and will also include a statement that sections 201 to 206 of the CER Act will not apply in respect to the procedure for approval of the detailed route of the pipeline.

Section 214 Application Conditions

In the event the Commission grants an order approving the section 214 application, it may condition the order such that prior to commencement of construction of the project on those lands where new land rights are required, the applicant will demonstrate in writing to the Commission that either:

• those lands have been acquired; or
• where any required lands have not been acquired, the rights, as prescribed by the CER Act, of those landowners will not be prejudiced by the construction of the project.

Lands not Acquired

In the event that a section 183 certificate is issued, the applicant would file the plans, profiles and books of reference (PPBoR) for the pipeline and serve notices pursuant to the requirements of subsection 201(1) of the CER Act on those landowners from which land rights have not been acquired. The Commission may allow construction of the project for those portions where the lands have been acquired, with the exception of a buffer zone near the lands not yet acquired pending the applicant demonstrating to the Commission that either the lands have been acquired, or the rights of the landowners have not been prejudiced.

A.4.6 Filing Requirements – section 214 Application to Address a Complaint

1. Where a section 214 application proposes work or construction to address a landowner or public complaint that has been filed with the CER, the application should include:

• a statement that the purpose of the work or construction proposed by the application is in response to a complaint that has been filed with the CER;
• the name and location of the complainant;
• the nature and date of the complaint; and
• how the activities proposed within the section 214 application will address the complaint.

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