British Columbia has filed an application to be an intervenor in the National Energy Board’s review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion project.
“As an intervenor, we will be able to take an active role at the panel’s hearings to ensure that we represent the interests of the people of B.C.,†Environment Minister Mary Polak said. “We are committed to ensuring that this project meets the highest standards of environmental protection and protects British Columbians from financial and environmental risk, if it does proceed.â€
B.C.’s five key requirements that must be met before the province will consider support of any heavy oil pipeline are:
* Successful completion of the environmental review process.
* World-leading marine oil spill response, prevention and recovery systems for B.C.’s coastline and ocean to manage and mitigate the risks and costs of heavy-oil pipelines and shipments.
* World-leading practices for land oil spill prevention, response and recovery systems to manage and mitigate the risks and costs of heavy-oil pipelines.
* Legal requirements regarding Aboriginal and treaty rights are addressed, and First Nations are provided with the opportunities, information and resources necessary to participate in and benefit from a heavy-oil project.
* British Columbia receives a fair share of the fiscal and economic benefits of a proposed heavy-oil project that reflects the level, degree and nature of the risk borne by the Province, the environment and taxpayers.
“We have made it clear that B.C. will only consider supporting a heavy-oil pipeline proposal if it satisfies our five conditions,†Polak said. “That applies to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion project.â€