OTTAWA—The Trans Mountain pipeline company — now owned by the federal government — says harmful impacts of increased oil tanker traffic on British Columbia killer whales are justified because public interest in its multi-billion-dollar expansion project is “incontrovertible.”

In a written argument submitted last week to the National Energy Board, the Crown corporation says there is no new evidence to prevent the expansion from going ahead when Canada needs to move more Alberta oil to overseas markets. The expansion would almost triple the carrying capacity of the Trans Mountain system to 890,000 barrels per day.

“These significant (environmental) effects are justified in the circumstances, given the critical need for the project and its important benefits to Canada,” Trans Mountain’s written argument says.

“The need is real and it is immediate. Canada needs the project now.”

Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi ordered the NEB to reassess the expansion proposal after the Federal Court of Appeal struck down the Liberal government’s approval for the project on Aug. 30. The court ruled the NEB was wrong to exclude marine shipping from its definition of the “project,” even while it concluded a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic from the expanded pipeline would make it harder for the dwindling population of southern resident killer whales to recover and lead to more greenhouse gas emissions.

As the NEB conducts its new review, the government has also launched a fresh round of Indigenous consultations on the project, after the court ruled Ottawa fell short of its duty to “meaningfully consult” First Nations affected by the pipeline expansion.

The Liberal government bought the existing Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion after the previous owner, Texas-based oil giant Kinder Morgan, expressed concern about political obstacles to the $9.3-billion expansion project.

The proposal has divided provincial governments in B.C. and Alberta and provoked opposition from environmentalists and some Indigenous groups.

In its submission to the NEB last week, Trans Mountain said tankers carrying oil from an expanded pipeline would only amount to about 6 per cent of traffic in the shipping lanes between the Port of Vancouver and international waters. As such, the company argued “the only effective way” to mitigate the environmental harms of marine shipping is through industry-wide regulation — not actions by Trans Mountain alone.

Even so, Trans Mountain proposed three new “mitigation measures” it is willing to take: instruct oil tankers to avoid killer whales’ foraging areas; evaluate the use of escort tug boats to help respond to oil spills; and work with shipping companies to optimize boat loads and reduce the overall number of shipments from the Trans Mountain terminal in Burnaby, B.C. The company has also committed to developing a marine mammal protection program as a condition for the approval of the pipeline expansion.

Trans Mountain argued other measures proposed during the new NEB assessment either aren’t feasible or justified. This includes proposals to force oil tankers to go slower and create “no-go” zones in critical habitats.

The NEB has until Feb. 22 to complete its new assessment of the expansion. Interveners like First Nations and environmental groups have until Tuesday to submit their own arguments in the new process, while Trans Mountain and federal government departments made their submissions last week.

On Monday in Vancouver, the environmental group Stand.earth touted its motion to the NEB that argued the new review should consider the full climate change impact of the project — including greenhouse gas emissions from oil extraction and use after travelling through the pipeline.

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