"Concerns Over Beluga Whales Delay Energy East Pipeline Project"

"TransCanada Corp.’s $11-billion Energy East pipeline project has run into another stumbling block in Quebec as public opposition mounts over a possible threat to the endangered beluga whales in the St. Lawrence River.

The Calgary-based pipeline company is still awaiting provincial government permission to continue its exploratory and drilling work on a planned export terminal at Cacouna, a key calving site for the belugas, despite the lifting of a temporary court injunction on Oct. 15.

TransCanada had a work timetable it wanted to complete before the ice forms on the river.

The company’s goal was to return to work after it submitted to Quebec’s environment ministry a revised plan for noise abatement and other measures to protect the belugas, but it is still waiting for the green light after having done so last Wednesday."

Bertrand Marotte reports for the Toronto Globe and Mail October 19, 2014.