Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) is seeking public input on new approaches to dispute resolution. The objective is to develop effective options for preventing and managing conflict as an addition to NEB’s current regulatory approach.

“We believe individuals, groups and companies who have had experience with the NEB’s decision-making process can provide us with valuable input in designing new approaches to preventing or dealing with disputes among parties,” said Chairman Ken Vollman. “In addition, we are encouraging anyone else with an interest or experience in this area to contact us.

“Through this collaborative approach, we hope to design approaches that reflect the particular needs and concerns of all interested parties. These efforts will add to earlier work done by the board to design flexible approaches to handling disputes among parties.”

Last year, the board consulted the public on the development of a mediation process for resolving disputes among landowners and companies during detailed route hearings for oil and natural gas pipelines. The result was a Mediation Practice Direction that was adopted and is now available upon request. This year, the board successfully used a multi-party conference to resolve complex issues related to deactivation of pipeline facilities.

The NEB will have initial discussions with various parties and will use the input received to develop new options for dealing with disputes. Anyone else interested in participating can contact the NEB at (800) 899-1265.

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