VANCOUVER – While Enbridge (TSX:ENB) attempts to sell its controversial Northern Gateway pipeline project, the National Energy Board is also examining the broader issue of pipeline safety and pointing to Enbridge as an example of why the industry needs to change.

The board has posted a discussion paper in advance of a forum it will hold next June citing incidents — such as the Enbridge pipeline spill in a Michigan river two years — that demonstrate the need for the industry to put a renewed focus on environmental safety.

The board’s paper summarizes previous reports that raised concern about the lack of a safety culture within the industry, and asks companies attending the forum to brainstorm on ways to change that.

The Energy Board has invited the oil industry to the forum to examine emerging safety issues in oil and gas management.

The Michigan spill has overshadowed Enbridge’s Northern Gateway plans, particularly after a U.S. report concluded Enbridge failed to prevent or properly respond as millions of litres of crude flowed into the Kalamazoo River.

A joint review panel, representing the NEB and the Ministry of Environment, is leading public hearings into the Northern Gateway project currently under way in Edmonton.