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Dehcho guardians of the pipeline

The Dehcho Guardian program, an Indigenous land and water monitoring outfit, is embarking on its first industrial watch dog project – overseeing the $53-million replacement of the Norman Wells pipeline under the mighty Mackenzie River. "It's very important to have our own eyes and ears on the ground," said Dahti Tsetso, Dehcho resource management coordinator and developer of the guardian program.

William Alger listens to Elder Billy Norwegian. Each member community of the Dehcho-AAROM employs two guardians who monitor the land and water. Pat Kane photo

"It helps give us confidence that we know whats happening there on the landscape," she said.

Having community members with boots on the ground during the replacement of Enbridge's pipeline is the direct result of negotiating an environmental management agreement with Enbridge, said Tsetso.

"It enables us to have an independent system of monitoring," she said. "We have our own people as watchdogs."

The guardian team has 16 members who are conducting monitoring of the earth, permafrost and water. Since March, pairs of guardians have been rotating on site and at all 16 guardians will be conducting monitoring work.

The Norman Wells Pipeline shut down in November of 2016 when permafrost slumping threatened its structural integrity where it passes under the Mackenzie.

The shutdown, rerouting and imminent repairs were not without controversy.

Concerns surfaced during consultations with the National Energy Board (NEB) and affected communities in the Dehcho. During hearings, community members raised concerns about threats from spills and permafrost, said Tsetso.

The pipeline has a capacity of 50,000 barrels per day.

During three days of hearings in Ft. Simpson last year, legal counsel Daniel T'seleie and Chief Gerald Antoine were critical of Enbridge and its commitment to giving clear information to communities.

Enbridge is starting drilling for the pipeline, which carries crude oil more than 800 kilometres from Norman Wells to Zama, Alta., where it joins a third pipeline to Edmonton.

The NEB held a hearing in Ft. Simpson to review the application and in its environmental assessment found the project was "not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects," states the NEB website.

One of the mandatory conditions for approving the project is the Indigenous Monitoring Plan.

Many communities, "felt concerned that they were on the pipeline corridor," said Tsetso.

The agreement for independent monitoring "gives capacity for our own people."

In the winter, there was a seven-week training course to prep workers for the program.

A growing trend

The guardianship is not necessarily the first of its kind, but is part of a growing web of Indigenous monitoring groups taking control over monitoring community impacts.

"The whole concept of Indigenous guardians across Canada is starting to become more talked about," said Tsetso.

Lutsel K'e has Ni Hat'ni Dene, its own environmental monitoring program for Thaidene Nene national park and the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. The Innu in Labrador have their own guardians for Voisey Bay Mine.

In the Dehcho, Deh Cho-AAROM has been conducting aquatic monitoring for over a decade. The guardianship program expands that monitoring to terrestrial and socio-cultural impacts.

With pipeline repairs looming, the community was concerned about impacts to local harvesters, scaring away wildlife and people like the Mouse family, who live directly in the project area, said Tsetso.

"For those impacts that can't be mitigated, they should be compensated."

The impact to permafrost is one of the reasons Enbridge had to reroute the pipeline and was a key community concern, said Tsetso.

Up to two and a half kilometres of new pipeline will be built using horizontal drilling, well away from vulnerable permafrost. The pipeline will be buried at a minimum depth of 1.2 metres, but as deep as 100 metres beneath the Mackenzie River, states Enbridge's application

The deep drilling will put the pipeline "below the threat for permafrost degradation," said Tsetso.

During its installation, both Enbridge and the guardians will conduct their own monitoring to catch any increases in water turbidity from drilling fluid.

In the 2016 shutdown, Enbridge removed remaining product from the affected segment of the pipeline and re-injected it downstream of the Mackenzie River crossing, states the Enbridge website.

The NEB approved the repairs in January. Enbridge applied to the NEB last March after identifying safety concerns related to the shifting banks of the Mackenzie River.

In the approval, Enbridge will be permitted to leave the pipe that is being replaced under the Mackenzie River to be cleaned, filled and capped.