Still, others expressed support for the project, including landowner and farmer Bill Tuytel in Yarrow who said he had nothing but good experience with the company.
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Trans Mountain must enhance its marine oil spill response to be capable of delivering 20,000 tonnes of capacity within 36 hours of notification.
The board said its 533-page report is one of the factors that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet will consider when making its decision, which is expected by the end of the year.
But Kinder Morgan would have to address 157 environmental, safety and financial conditions, including holding $1.1 billion in liability coverage and detailing its plans to reduce and offset emissions.
The project and the streamlined review process attracted fierce opposition, including from the British Columbia government and the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby.
The BC government is also planning its own review, and now says it’s opposed to the project as is.
Expanding the pipeline is “in Canada’s public interest” according to the regulator, citing a boost in jobs and government revenues, though it warned increases in tanker traffic could lead to “significant effects” to the environment, including the recovery of the southern resident killer whale.
Steedman said 93 of the board’s 157 conditions for the expansion project had been implemented following hearings held in British Columbia and Alberta, where affected parties were able to explain their concerns with the project. The area will be the scene of increased tanker traffice if the government gives final approval to the pipeline.
Some adverse impacts remain even with conditions, the board noted.
The board also said future vessel traffic would contribute to an increase in Canadian greenhouse gas emissions.
It also said it considered how the project and related tanker traffic could impact indigenous interests.
The likelihood of a major spill is very low, though the potential significance of a spill is very high, leading to imposed conditions including emergency preparedness and response as well as safety of the operations, the board said.
Alberta has been a strong proponent of the pipeline expansion.
Steven Paget, an analyst with Calgary investment firm FirstEnergy Capital, said increased takeaway capacity is essential as long-planned oilsands projects continue to build production capacity in Alberta over the next few years.
The Wilderness Committee said it was “outraged but not surprised”.
Robertson says the more than fifty environmental conditions laid out by the NEB are “not going to do anything to prevent” what he calls “an inevitable catastrophe that would happen with an oil spill” off of B.C.’s coast. In addition to evidence from Kinder Morgan, the board heard from 35 indigenous groups, 400 interveners and 1,250 other parties with letters of comment.
The project obtained federal approval in 2014 but has been mired in legal uncertainty ever since.
Earlier this week, the federal government announced an environmental panel to review the project that will report in November to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr.
The federal regulator has issued its long-awaited report on the project after a two-year debate that cost millions, galvanized aboriginal and environmental protests and prompted mass arrests. The company also promised to train the Burnaby Fire Department at its facilities.
The board found that the project, which would triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline system in Western Canada, can be constructed, operated and maintained in a safe manner and is in Canada’s best interest. If the pipeline is approved, and when it is operational, it could safely transport 890,000 barrels of oil per of day from Edmonton, Alta.to Burnaby, B.C., up from 300,000 today.
May 19, 2016: The National Energy Board recommends conditional approval for the project.
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The final decision on whether the project can move forward rests with the federal government.
