B.C.’s Energy Minister says a Saturday spill of about 190,000 litres (1195 barrels) of light crude oil from the Sumas Pump Station in Abbotsford is a reason why the NDP were against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project in the first place.

“And all those legal challenges have now been resolved and the project is going forward, but those concerns were the very ones that motivated us,” Bruce Ralston said, while speaking on NL Newsday.

He was also reacting to allegations from a local First Nations Chief who says this is the fourth spill at that facility in 15 years.

“That’s partly the reason why as a government, we took a position that these were the very dangers that the TMX expansion posed for British Columbia, and that’s why we took a position against it,” Ralston added.

Environment Minister George Heyman’s ministry is following up with Trans Mountain’s clean up and other mitigation efforts. In a statement released on Sunday, the company says the spill has been fully contained, noting the site has permanent groundwater monitoring in place, and no risks to the public or the community have been identified.

Construction on the expansion project already underway in the Kamloops area, with work camps under construction north of the city.

Heyman previously told NL News that while the government still believes the pipeline expansion to be a risky project for the province, they will not be withholding them, as the project is federal jurisdiction.

(Photo via Trans Mountain Corporation)