B.C. government grants environmental approval for Kinder MorBC Gov grants environmental approval for Kinder Morgan pipeline B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak announced the environmental assessment certificate Wednesday, saying B.C. has placed 37 additional conditions on the pipeline on top of the 157 issued by the National Energy Board earlier this year.
“Clearly, the project will have economic benefits for British Columbia workers, families and communities,” Polak said in a statement with Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman.
“However, we have always been clear economic development will not come at the expense of the environment. We believe environmental protection and economic development can occur together, and the conditions attached to the E.A. certificate reflect that.”
The detailed environmental assessment summary is available here.
B.C. had to undertake its own environment assessment, after a court ruling that said it could not simply assign the matter on such projects to Ottawa’s NEB.
Premier Christy Clark and Polak are expected to address the media at 3 p.m. Wednesday on the pipeline.
The $6.8-billion expansion would twin an existing route from Edmonton to Burnaby, tripling Kinder Morgan’s oil capacity to 890,000 barrels a day. If the company clears the many hurdles still in its way, it could begin shipping in late 2019.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved the project federally in late November.
The pipeline still faces fierce local opposition from Metro Vancouver politicians and environmental groups, who say the environmental risk for a catastrophic oil spill in the ocean off the Lower Mainland is too great.
The B.C. government has said Kinder Morgan is very close to fulfilling the province’s five conditions for support, but that it requires more details from Ottawa on an ocean spill response plan as well as some type of financial profit from the company. The premier has said any profit sharing from Kinder Morgan would go into an environmental fund.