NEB to issue Trans Mountain pipeline decision today
After three years of hearings and talks, the National Energy Board will issue its decision on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion today, but the project still faces two other reviews before any final decision is made.
Kinder Morgan wants to spend $6.8 billion to twin the pipeline and nearly triple its capacity to carry diluted bitumen from the oilsands near Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., for export.
But whether or not the NEB recommends the project go ahead today, that will not be the last word on the project.
Earlier this week, the federal government named a three-person panel that will have until Nov. 1 to review environmental impacts and community and First Nation support for the project.
The B.C. government is formally opposed to the project and will also conduct its own assessment, says Environmental Minister Mary Polak.
RCMP officers take protesters into custody at Kinder Morgan anti-pipeline demonstration in Burnaby, B.C., on Nov. 20, 2014. (Jonathan Hayward / Canadian Press)
“We have notified the proponents that they will need to go through the process. It looks like the office has relied heavily on information provided through NEB,” said Polak.
The expansion project has already been widely rejected by many in B.C., including Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who says the project is no good for his city.
“We will be watching closely what the NEB decides, noting the entire process from the NEB was flawed and a farce.”
Those who back the project say it will generate almost $1 billion in economic activity and nearly 34,000 jobs a year.
A decision from the federal cabinet on the expansion is expected by the end of the year.