Interveners get extension in pipeline reconsideration
Environmentalists and First Nations are pushing to extend and to expand the federal government’s expedited regulatory reconsideration of the $9.3-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion.
They have had some success. The National Energy Board extended by 15 days the time interveners have to provide comments and evidence until Dec. 5.
The push by the Squamish Nation for more time had support from more than two dozen First Nations, including from U.S. tribes, and half a dozen environmental groups. It also had support from the B.C. government and Metro Vancouver.
Environmental groups and First Nations are also pushing to increase the physical scope of the review beyond the 12-nautical-mile sea limit and to require Trans Mountain to conduct “a proper” risk assessment of the project’s tanker shipping on all Canadian species at risk. The species at risk list includes whales other than killer whales, and birds such as the marbled murrelet.
The NEB has given the parties staggered deadlines up to Dec. 6 to provide comments on physical scope and a “proper” risk assessment.
“We’re trying to make (reconsideration) as robust as possible, but you can’t do that if marine impacts are not properly examined, including all the species at risk,” said Living Oceans’ executive director, Karen Wristen.
Living Oceans is helping spearhead the push to expand the ocean review boundaries along with the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation.
Wristen said she was pleased the NEB had extended the deadline for evidence but that the expedited reconsideration still does not give enough time for proper assessment.
The application for a time extension on evidence and increased physical scope was not supported by Trans Mountain.
“Trans Mountain’s position is that the proposed 15-day extension is not warranted in the circumstances and may prejudice Trans Mountain and other parties through impacting subsequent deadlines,” Shawn Denstedt, a lawyer with Calgary-based Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, said in a written reply to the NEB.
The Canadian government now owns the Trans Mountain pipeline that delivers oil from Alberta to Burnaby, and its proposed expansion, following a decision last spring to buy the assets for $4.5 billion from Houston-based Kinder Morgan. Kinder Morgan had balked at continuing to build the project because of opposition in B.C., particularly from the NDP government that came to power in 2017.
The Trudeau government has given the NEB just 22 weeks — with a deadline of Feb. 22 to deliver a report — to reconsider the Trans Mountain expansion project to take into account marine traffic and its effect on killer whales.
NEB spokeswoman Karen Ryhorchuk said the regulator’s latest revised hearing schedule continues to show a report release of Feb. 22 or earlier.
The federal government’s decision to have the NEB reconsider the project came after the Federal Court of Appeal decision this summer to quash the approval of the project.