The Joint Review Panel under the Canadian Enviromental Assessment Act made a total of 176 recommendations to mitigate any harmful environmental and socio-economic effects of building and operating a 1,200-kilometre natural gas pipeline. Of those recommendations, 115 were aimed at Canada's federal and N.W.T. governments.

When the panel released its findings December 2009, it said they would only support the proposed pipeline if all its recommendations were implemented.

But in an interim response, the Canadian and N.W.T. governments stated only 10 Joint Review Panel recommendations would be accepted as written. Twenty-eight recommendation were rejected outright and 77 were acceptable with changes.

The governments did not identify which recommendations were accepted, rejected or needed modification; Their response did point to general concerns that some recommendations might constrain development, require long-term government funding commitments, and have timelines the governments cannot follow.

The National Energy Board, a federal agency that regulates parts of Canada's energy sector, is determining whether to approve the pipeline proposal. The board's decision is expected September 2010. The pipeline also requires an environmental licence and many work permits.