OEB Approves Pipeline Route Realignment On Motion To Review And Vary

On March 12, 2020, the Ontario Energy Board approved construction by Imperial Oil Limited of a pipeline for the transportation of refined petroleum products from a facility in Hamilton to a facility in Toronto. The pipeline was proposed by Imperial Oil to replace an existing pipeline that is reaching the end of its serviceable life and it largely follows the route of the existing pipeline. Subsequent to the OEB's decision granting leave to construct, Imperial Oil requested, by letter to the OEB, three changes to the OEB-approved route for the pipeline.

An OEB staff member, acting under delegated authority, found that two of the route changes proposed by Imperial Oil were not material, but that the third proposed change would be material. The third proposed change would directly affect 23 parcels of land including six properties, owned by five different landowners, that were not directly impacted by the OEB-approved route. Because the six properties were not part of