Board ruling looms for expanded Trans Mountain pipeline as Ottawa appoints panel
VANCOUVER — As a key decision looms this week on a project that will have an impact on the future of Canada’s oil economy, the federal government announced details Tuesday of an additional review on the Trans Mountain pipeline.
The National Energy Board is set to announce by Friday whether it supports Kinder Morgan’s proposal to triple the capacity of the pipeline, which carries diluted bitumen from the oilsands near Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., for export.
The federal government, meanwhile, announced the appointment of a three-member panel to conduct an environmental review of the project. It will provide a report to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr in November.
Carr said the panel cannot override the energy board’s decision.