Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson ( Jun 02/00) - Stakeholders in any potential future pipeline should remember that it's a "boom and bust" industry, according to Bill Byrne, manager Northern region with Enbridge Pipelines (NW) Inc.

"You have the peak during construction and then once construction is done, you need to disassociate that from the operations side," Byrne said. "There are significant reductions in the amount of people required to operate a pipeline as opposed to construct it."

He estimated that there will be fewer than 100 jobs through the operation of the pipeline once it is laid. Enbridge, he noted, operates an 868 kilometre from Norman Wells to Zama, Alta. with 22 people.

"We've got to make sure what we're saying here is up front. Let's not just say that there might be 150 jobs just for the sake of saying that. That's not right," he said.

The benefit from a pipeline lies more in the secondary industry and in the lower cost of natural gas as a fuel for the communities along the route, according to Byrne.

As for aboriginal ownership in the project, which would also ensure long-term benefits, there seems to be general acceptance of that condition, he noted.

"That's recognized by all of the pipe companies. That has to be part of the consideration for a future pipeline down the valley," he said.