Trans Mountain Expansion Project Reconsideration

The Trans Mountain Expansion Project (Project) is an expansion of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline system which transports oil and other products between Edmonton, Alberta and Burnaby, B.C. It will include approximately 987 km of new pipeline, new and modified facilities, such as pump stations and tanks, and the reactivation of 193 km of existing pipeline.

In September 2019, the BC Court of Appeal, in two cases (1, 2), decided that because the Ministers who issued the provincial EA Certificate for TMX relied on the NEB’s assessment, they should have the opportunity consider the changes in the NEB’s Reconsideration Report (issued in 2019) and determine if any changes to the EA Certificate conditions, or the addition of new ones, are necessary, within the limits of provincial jurisdiction. In March 2020, the Ministers directed the Environmental Assessment Office to undertake a reconsideration process and prepare a report to advise their decision on whether to add or amend any conditions to the TMX Environmental Assessment Certificate.

The EAO sought public comments on the Draft Provincial Reconsideration Report during this process to help ensure all the relevant details were considered. The public Comment period was open until March 1^st, 2021.

For more information, please visit the Trans Mountain Expansion Page engagement site.

January 15 to March 1, 2021

• 619 responses submitted to the EAO’s Project Information Centre
• Over 35,000 emails from three separate email campaigns

A What We Heard Report details feedback received during the public comment period and the next steps in the reconsideration process. A more detailed discussion of the issues raised in the public comments, and the EAO’s views on these issues, will be included in the final Provincial Reconsideration Report. The EAO expects to finalize the reconsideration report in summer 2021 and will provide it to B.C.’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation to inform their decision on whether to add or amend any conditions to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project or Project Environmental Assessment Certificate.