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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The budget for the Joint Review Panel in charge of assessing the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline has nearly tripled, as the release date of the report has, on more than one occasion, been pushed back.

Annie Roy, a spokesperson with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEEA), said the panel's original budget was set at around $6.3 million.

With last December's announcement that the seven member panel's review would not be released until December 2009, Roy said the estimated budget based on that date is about $18.7 million.

She said the increased time, more hearings and extensive amount of evidence the panel must analyze in order to finish the report have all factored into the increased budget.

"The panel has been undertaking a complex task that must consider a substantial body of evidence to do their report," she said.

The panel was appointed on Aug. 18, 2004 and has been delayed more than once.

Public hearings concluded on Nov. 29, 2007. After 115 hearing days, the panel received more than 5,000 written submissions and thousands of recommendations on the pipeline.

While funding flows through the federal environmental agency to the panel, the costs of the panel are covered by two organizations involved in the proposed pipeline.

Two-thirds of the budget is paid for by the project's proponents, while the other third coming from its sponsor groups.

Chris Buist, with the Norman Wells Chamber of Commerce, said the delays to the report have been a hindrance to the town.

"Development is stalled in town," he said.

"We expected it to be done in a timely fashion."

Buist said the local chamber of commerce was in full support of the development, adding it would spur the economy and could even bring a long-awaited Mackenzie Valley Highway.

He said the increased budget doesn't surprise him.

"In my opinion, they are just riding it out for all the money it's worth," he said.

Pius Rolheiser, a spokesperson for Imperial Oil in Calgary, said while Imperial Oil is disappointed with the delays, it is committed to the regulatory process.

"It's not for the proponents to judge whether the joint review panel is using its time efficiently or is carrying out its mandate effectively," he said.

He said the review panel approval is one of three steps that the process must go through for regulatory approval.

The next step would be National Energy Board approval of the project, followed by a decision by proponents as to whether they still wanted to go forward with the pipeline.

Rolheiser said a March 2007 report submitted by Imperial Oil estimated that gas would not flow until 2014 under a best-case scenario.

That, he said, was before the latest delay.

Roy said the panel will receive whatever funding it needs to complete its report.

"The CEAA and the partners of the joint panel agreement will provide the necessary resources to support the panel in the completion of the report," said Roy.