Boblo Island Community Expansion Project

Project updates

The virtual and in-person open houses for the Boblo Island Community Expansion Project have finished, and comments were accepted until April 19, 2023 for incorporation into the Environmental Report. Any comments received after this date will still be considered and included, as required, during the Project planning stages.

Timeline

Project consultation

Indigenous and community engagement

For this project, the collective input from Indigenous communities, government agencies, municipalities, stakeholders, the public and landowners play an integral role in the route and site selection process.

Prior to construction, public input is obtained to ensure that the community is advised of the proposed project, and to involve the public in the decision-making process. Public consultation is a key component of the Environmental Report.

By providing the public with an opportunity to receive information about the Project, the consultation program helps identify and address stakeholder concerns, and have meaningful participation into the Project review and development process.

Public input from the Virtual and In-Person Open Houses will be used to help finalize the project and mitigation plans to be implemented during construction.

Once the Leave-to-Construct (LTC) application is made to the OEB, any party with an interest in the Project, including members of the public, has an opportunity to participate in the process.

Public notification

Newspaper advertisements

The Notice of Study Commencement and Public Open House for the Project appeared in Amherstburg River Town Times on Feb. 8 and 15, and March 9 and 16, 2023.

Open House

Indigenous consultation and stakeholder engagement is an important part of this study. Members of indigenous communities, the public, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders were invited to attend the Open House to review the project and provide comments. The in-person open house was held on March 20, 2023 from 5-8 PM at the Libro Credit Union Centre in Amherstburg, Ontario. The virtual open house took place online from Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, to Tuesday, March 7, 2023 but was extended to March 25, 2023 due to inclement weather and the rescheduling of the in-person open house.

Copies of the open house material (including presentation boards, transcript, and questionnaire) are available below and we are still seeking feedback and comments on the proposed Project until April 19, 2023. Comments received up to and including April 19, 2023 will be included in the Environmental Report for the Project and comments received after this date will still be considered and included, as required, during the Project planning stages.

• Open House Poster Boards
• VOH Transcript
• Notice of Study Commencement, posted in the Amhertsburg River Town Times on the following dates: Feb. 8 and 15, and March 9 and 16, 2023.
• Questionnaire

Regulatory information

The Boblo Island Community Expansion Project is regulated by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), an independent government agency that regulates the electricity and natural gas sectors. After a public review and hearing, the OEB is able to approve our application. In this section, you can review all regulatory files about the projects as they become available.

Environment assessment

In accordance with the OEB's “Environmental Guidelines for the Location, Construction and Operation of Hydrocarbon Pipeline and Facilities in Ontario, 7th Edition 2016” , Enbridge Gas retained the services of Stantec Consulting Ltd., an independent environmental consultant, to complete an environmental assessment for the proposed project.

The purpose of the environmental assessment is to: identify any potential impacts of the proposed project on the social, economic and natural environments; identify local or provincial concerns regarding the proposed project; determine preferred routing of the pipeline segments (and if alternate routing is practical); gather input from agencies, stakeholders, Indigenous communities and Métis, affected landowners, and the public. As well, mitigation measures are recommended to limit impacts on the social, economic and natural environments. It is important to minimize potential impacts of the proposed natural gas distribution pipelines and associated facilities on the environment. The data, analysis and results of the environmental assessment are detailed in the environmental report.

Read the Environmental Report here.

Leave to construct application

Enbridge Gas filed leave to construct application on May 31, 2024.

On June 24th, 2024, the OEB issued the notice of hearing for the project.

You can also view the Letter of Direction.