Pipeline still stymied

PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION HAMPERED BY HEARINGS, PERMITS, COURT ACTION: REPORT

Construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will likely be delayed due to detailed route hearings, outstanding provincial permits and Indigenous court challenges, says a report from environmental group Stand.earth.

The report argues that the Crown corporation that owns the project faces bigger construction challenges than it has openly acknowledged and is unlikely to complete it within a planned threeyear timeline.

Many details of construction are publicly available, but they are complex and buried on the website of the Canadian Energy Regulator, formerly the National Energy Board, Tzeporah Berman of Stand.earth told a news conference Wednesday.

“The lack of transparency about the impacts and timeline of the potential construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline has been worse since the federal government bought it,” she said.

“Canadian taxpayers who are the ones paying for this multibillion-dollar project have a right to know the impacts that construction will have on communities and the environment.”

The Canadian Energy Regulator revoked all previous route approvals in July and required Trans Mountain Corp. to file new notices of its proposed route. Residents, municipalities and Indigenous groups may then file statements of opposition and the regulator decides on a segment-by-segment basis whether to hold detailed route hearings.

The environmental group’s report says statements of opposition have been filed in every major segment and hearings are likely to be considered for the Fraser River crossing, Burnaby Mountain Tunnel, and areas where schools, homes and municipal water supplies could be affected.

Stand.earth adds the project needs 1,187 permits from British Columbia and as of June, the province was reviewing 658 permits, while applications for a further 243 have not been made yet.

It also notes that the Federal Court of Appeal has granted six Indigenous groups leave to challenge the federal government’s approval of the expansion. The court called for narrowly focused hearings with a strict timeline.

Trans Mountain did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. But it has previously said that it is proceeding with the project in a phased approach, starting construction where it has received permits.