The National Energy Board is recommending the federal government approve the Trans Mountain pipeline as it tables its court mandated reconsideration report.
NEB Chief Environment Officer Dr. Robert Steedman says the approval comes with 156 conditions and 16 separate recommendations on marine shipping.
“Covering a wide range of matters including emergency preparedness and response, protection of the environment, consultations with affected indigenous communities, socio-economic matters, pipeline safety and integrity, commercial support for the project prior to construction, and financial responsibility on the part of the company.”
Steedman says while the panel ultimately found the benefits of the Trans Mountain pipeline far outweighed the negative impacts those impacts were significant.
“While recommending the project be approved the NEB report concludes that project related marine shipping is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects on the southern resident killer whale as well as indigenous cultural use associated with the southern resident killer whale. The NEB also found the greenhouse gas emissions from project related vessels would likely be significant.”
But that said.
“The panel received a lot of evidence indicating that the Salish Sea is already highly disturbed and degraded by human activity around the basin. That the effects on marine mammals are already significant without the project.”
Among the 156 conditions and 16 marine specific recommendations are changes to all marine traffic in the Salish Sea.
“Underwater noise generated by marine vessels and the possibility of strikes and general disruption of communication and behavior of marine species.”
He says the hope is the recommended changes will mean improvements in the Salish Sea improving the situation as whole.
The board’s original approval of the project was set aside last summer by the Federal Court of Appeal, which said the regulator had not properly considered on marine life.
The NEB’s report starts the clock on a 90-day period for the federal government to decide whether the project should proceed.
You can read the National Energy Board’s full reconsideration report HERE
Trans Mountain’s response in full is below.
