An Orca whale breaches in waters that would be traversed by 40 oil tankers each month if the giant proposed 890,000-barrels-a-day Kinder Morgan Pipeline is built in British Columbia.
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The report by the regulator will go to the federal government to allow Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet to make a final decision on the project, 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.
Conditions attached to the board’s recommendation could range from addressing the timing of construction to requiring the submission of emergency management plans. But key First Nations on the coast remain opposed, including the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish and Musqueam.
“Vancouver is firm in our resolve that an expanded Kinder Morgan pipeline’s safety, environmental, and public health risks far outweigh any economic benefit, and is therefore not in the public interest”, he said.
The NEB ruled that “the effects on the interests of potentially affected aboriginal groups can be effectively minimized”.
“We have set the bar high for a reason”, Polak, the B.C. environment minister, said.
The report noted the board didn’t share the view of the municipalities or provincial government, with Steedman telling reporters the board found the likelihood of a major oil spill was “a very low probability”.
Alberta has been a strong proponent of the pipeline expansion.
Greenpeace Canada’s Mike Hudema says Canada can’t have it both ways, by expanding the pipeline and trying to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as Canada promised in Paris during the Climate Change Talks.
“Canadians want to know that sustainable resource development will be pursued safely. A modern, carefully regulated, carefully monitored pipeline is the safest and most economical way to move energy products to market”.
“I am not surprised that Kinder Morgan has been rubber-stamped by the National Energy Board”, he said quoted there.
One analyst said a decision against the pipeline means oil will still have to get to market, likely transported by rail.
“Getting the green light on energy infrastructure projects such as the Trans Mountain Expansion would be a tremendous stimulus for the Canadian economy”, McMillan said.
The board heard from 35 indigenous groups over 20 days in five cities, accepted evidence from 400 interveners and received another 1,250 letters of comment.
A three member federal review panel will present its report on the project in November, with a Cabinet decision due in December. He said the panel can not override the energy board’s decision but will consult, particularly with indigenous people.
A comprehensive environmental assessment of the project was also completed in accordance with its authority under the National Energy Board Act (NEB Act), as well as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 (CEAA 2012).
New Democrat Kennedy Stewart, the MP for Burnaby South, which is ground-zero for Trans Mountain protests, said the Liberals are breaking an election promise to “redo the Kinder Morgan pipeline review”.
If approved, the contentious project would add almost 1,200 kilometres of new and reactivated pipeline and would expand the West Marine Terminal on Burrard Inlet. “This proposal is a bad deal for Vancouver and our entire region”.
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“Perhaps most telling, most of the economic benefits from this project will come after the construction period”, McMillan said.
