Search
Program Calendar
Browse By Day
Browse By Time
Browse By Person
Browse By Room
Browse By Session Type
Browse By Topic
Browse By Geographical Focus
Search Tips
Virtual Exhibit Hall
Personal Schedule
Sign In
In 1980, Interprovincial Pipe Line Company applied for regulatory approval from the National Energy board to construct a small diameter oil pipeline from Norman Wells, NWT to Zama, AB. This was part of a development project that would expand production at the Norman Wells oilfields and deliver crude oil to refineries in Alberta. It was also the first pipeline development proposal for the NWT following the contentious national debate over the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline in the late 1970s. Once again, a pipeline corporation sought to build a new pipeline in Denendeh, the traditional territory of the Dene Nation.
This paper will examine the assessment of the potential environmental impacts of the pipeline in 1980. Using exhibits and evidence from the initial NEB hearings on the proposal, this paper will explore the competing meanings of environmental protection and impact as IPL presented its environmental assessment report and local Dene leaders sought to challenge those findings.