Ottawa to take lead on Trans Mountain Pipeline review – The Globe and Mail

Dec. 17 2013

The B.C. government will take a relatively hands-off approach to Kinder Morgan’s proposed $5.4-billion expansion of its Trans Mountain Pipeline, saying Ottawa has a system in place to review a project that could significantly boost tanker traffic in B.C. waters.

“We’re not going to prejudge the process,” B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak told reporters on a conference call Monday after Kinder Morgan filed its application with the National Energy Board. “We’ll be reviewing the application and [will determine] if there is any additional information that we require in preparation for hearings that are anticipated.”

The province is likely to apply for intervener status as it did with the recently concluded panel for the Northern Gateway project, Ms. Polak added.

The two mega-projects have dominated public debate and political agendas for the past year. Enbridge’s $6.5-billion Northern Gateway is a twinned pipeline project that would ship crude oil from northern Alberta to the B.C. coast for loading onto marine vessels and move condensate in the other direction.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/ottawa-to-take-lead-on-trans-mountain-pipeline-review/article15996745/