The National Energy Board has issued a 533-page report recommending governor in council approve the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, subject to 157 conditions.

The board recommendation follows a public hearing process that included a thorough scientific and technical examination of all the evidence brought before the three-member NEB panel. The board completed a comprehensive environmental assessment of the project in accordance with its authority under the National Energy Board Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 (CEAA 2012).

Through the public hearing process the board said it considered all the evidence and arguments made for and against Trans Mountain’s application to construct and operate the project, including information regarding the consultation undertaken with indigenous groups, the potential impacts, and proposed mitigation measures. The board then considered all of the benefits and burdens associated with the project, balancing various interests and factors (such as the need for the project), before determining whether, in its opinion, the project is in the Canadian public interest.

“Taking into account all the evidence, considering all relevant factors, and given that there are considerable benefits nationally, regionally and to some degree locally, the board found that the benefits of the project would outweigh the residual burdens,” the NEB stated.