The proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is the safest, most viable option for transporting crude to B.C.’s coast, and the project will bring billions to the Canada’s economy and government coffers – that’s the picture Kinder Morgan is painting in its final argument to the National Energy Board.
The 440-page document, filed with the NEB today, argues the project is in the public interest, which is the deciding factor for the board’s recommendation to approve or nix the project.
“Trans Mountain submits that by building on its existing system, paralleling the existing right-of-way and implementing well known and proven mitigation, there are no environmental, or social impacts that cannot be mitigated. That conclusion must be balanced with the material and certain economic benefits that will flow from increased market access, world prices for our resources and the jobs and opportunities that accompany the development of this project,” the final argument reads. “In balancing those benefits and burdens, Trans Mountain respectfully submits that the board can arrive at only one conclusion - the project is in the public interest.”
Kinder Morgan highlighted claims of an $18.2-billion increase in gross domestic product, $61 billion in profits for producers and $19.9 billion in taxes and revenues.
“The scrutiny and rigour this project has undergone, both inside and outside of the formal process, is unprecedented. Our team takes pride in the efforts made to consider input and present the very best scientific and technical evidence to both the public and the regulator,” said Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada, in a media release.
If approved, the $5.4-billion project would see the Trans Mountain pipeline system twinned, all the way from Alberta to Burnaby. Local elements include expanding the Westridge dock, where tankers fill up with crude, and the Burnaby Mountain tank farm. Burrard Inlet tanker traffic would increase from roughly five tankers a month to 34, while the line’s capacity would increase from 300,000 barrels of oil per day to 890,000.
Besides the final argument, the Kinder Morgan’s Aug. 20 filing also included comments on intervenors’ concerns and the 145 draft conditions the NEB recently released.
The NEB scheduled Kinder Morgan’s final arguments for August so that intervenors would have time to review them before the September hearings for final oral arguments in Burnaby.
