The regulatory process for the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project took another step forward in British Columbia, a national regulator said.

The National Energy Board ruled that a route for a small section of the pipeline in the city of Chilliwack in British Columbia was necessary. "After considering and weighing all the evidence before it," the regulator ruled the section was in the public interest.

"The NEB's decision to approve Trans Mountain's Chilliwack variance application now goes to the federal government," the regulator stated. "If approved, the detailed route approval process for the area in which this variance is located will be proceeding in the fall of 2018."

The consortium behind the expansion project applied for a variance to the pipeline corridor. As submitted, it would avoid hydroelectric power infrastructure in British Columbia and run about 1,600 feet shorter than initially planned, but still follow the existing pipeline infrastructure.

Pipeline company Kinder Morgan plans to expand the Trans Mountain network to the western coast of Canada, tripling its design capacity to 890,000 barrels per day. Nearly all of the exported Canadian oil heads south to the United States and the expansion of Trans Mountain would help break a North American land lock, but lead to an increase in tanker traffic along the western Canadian shore.

The project has faced steady opposition from both sides of the border. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in March signed executive action protecting maritime species in a move that Greenpeace said could complicate Kinder Morgan's plans.

The city government in Chilliwack said it was playing an active role in the regulatory process, expressing concerns ranging from the impact on a regional aquifer to protection of the environment along the pipeline's right of way.

NEB's ruling is just one step in a multi-layered process. It issued decisions in February that could let the pipeline group start work on a tunnel entrance at Burnaby Mountain in British Columbia, provided it gets permits from three different levels of government.

Kinder Morgan stops work on controversial Canada pipeline
Montreal (AFP) April 9, 2018 - The US firm Kinder Morgan said Sunday it would suspend most work on a controversial oil pipeline in Canada's British Columbia because of fierce opposition by provincial authorities.

A final decision on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, which is supported by both the federal government headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, is expected by May 31.

The pipeline links oil sands fields in Alberta province to the outskirts of Vancouver, from where oil is shipped overseas.

"While we have succeeded in all legal challenges to date, a company cannot litigate its way to an in-service pipeline amidst jurisdictional differences between governments," Kinder Morgan Chairman and CEO Steve Kean said in a statement, adding the firm would consult with stakeholders before to reach a conclusion.

The news comes just days after Trudeau toured western Canada and reaffirmed his strong support for the project, which would see the pipeline's capacity rise from 300,000 to 800,000 barrels a day.

On March 26, Canada's Federal Court of Appeal ruled against British Columbia's bid to appeal a National Energy Board ruling that allowed Kinder Morgan to bypass local bylaws during work on the pipeline to boost its pumping capacity.

Another lawsuit brought by indigenous Canadians has reached the provincial supreme court.

Opponents of the pipeline point to the risk of oil spills at sea and the danger this poses for endangered sea mammals.

They also say that, by increasing the volume of oil shipped to the US and Asian markets, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ignoring its commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

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