WHEREAS sourcing of natural gas is a high priority of municipalities and natural gas co-ops in rural Alberta in order to serve our residents; and

WHEREAS high volumes of natural gas are available through privately-owned pipelines; and

WHEREAS rural municipalities and gas co-ops use privately-owned, high-pressure pipelines to supply natural gas to their customers and constituents; and

WHEREAS some privately-owned pipelines are being abandoned because they are no longer viable for the owner; and

WHEREAS rural municipalities and gas co-ops face additional costs and uncertainties because of these abandonments; and

WHEREAS these uncertainties limit cost-effective planning and expansion of natural gas systems for rural municipalities and gas co-ops at a reasonable cost;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, in conjunction with the Federation of Alberta Gas Co-ops and Gas Alberta, request the governments of Canada and Alberta to develop legislation and provide financial assistance to maintain certainty of access to natural gas pipelines for rural municipalities and gas co-ops in Alberta.

TransCanada and other companies are the current owners of Alberta Gas Trunk Line (AGTL)/Nova pipeline facilities buried across Alberta generations ago.

 Across Alberta, many towns, villages, counties and rural natural gas cooperatives have used these pipelines and facilities to supply natural gas to their communities. Many of these pipelines have become uneconomic to operate for TransCanada and are being scheduled for closure and abandonment.  Some of these are located in Lac La Biche County.

 If these abandonments are allowed to continue, rural Albertans will have to absorb additional costs for new infrastructure to replace the abandoned pipelines.  In Lac La Biche County’s case, a potential line abandonment will cost the local gas co-operative $410,000 for a new regulating/metering/odourizing station plus pipeline costs to the new location.

The AAMDC has no active resolutions directly related to this issue.