Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will cost Canadians billions, SFU study shows, Globe and Mail ($)

Emma Graney • Energy Reporter • Published April 1, 2021 EDMONTON The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion stands to lose Canada between $3.2-​billion and $18.5-billion, according to a new benefit-cost analysis study from a group of British Columbia researchers. Researchers from Simon Fraser University examined close to 20 business scenarios for the pipeline expansion, but didn’t find any in which it generates a net

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Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will lead to $11.9B in losses for Canada, study says, CBC

SFU team says several factors mean project should be shelved but industry expert disagrees Bethany Lindsay · CBC News · Posted: Mar 31, 2021 1:00 AM PT | Last Updated: April 1 A new study from researchers in B.C. estimates that Canada will lose $11.9 billion because of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, but some industry experts question

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Port of Kalama, NWIW appeal Ecology’s methanol permit denial, The Columbian ($)

By Katie Fairbanks • The Daily News • Published: February 9, 2021, 7:28pm LONGVIEW — The Port of Kalama and Northwest Innovation Works Tuesday appealed the state Department of Ecology’s denial of a key permit for the proposed $2.3 billion Kalama methanol plant, stating the agency unlawfully applied the shoreline criteria. MORE>> 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄: https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/feb/09/port-of-kalama-nwiw-appeal-ecologys-methanol-permit-denial/

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Millennium parent company files for Chapter 11; Columbia River site goes back to Alcoa, The Columbian ($)

By Marissa Heffernan • The Daily News • Published January 19, 2021 10:15AM LONGVIEW — After Millennium Bulk Terminals’ parent company filed for bankruptcy this month, the fate of the proposed coal terminal on the old Reynolds Aluminum Co. site is again in doubt, with opponents to the terminal calling the project dead. On Jan. 8, a

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Bankrupt coal firm fails to find buyer for West Coast export terminal, Casper Star Tribune

Camille Erickson • Jan 11, 2021 | Updated May 26, 2021 Wyoming’s long-held dream of exporting Powder River Basin coal from a West Coast terminal was recently dashed when the project’s owner filed for bankruptcy and failed to find an interested buyer. Lighthouse Resources Inc. petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 3. The company owns the Decker coal mine

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Trans Mountain project remains on safety stand down, Kamloops This Week

In addition to an Oct. 27 death in Edmonton and a Dec. 15 serious injury in Burnaby, there have been 91 confirmed cases of COVID-19 along the construction route, with 12 of those cases being active as of Dec. 28. Christopher Foulds / Kamloops This Week When the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project shut down earlier than

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B.C. restricts pipeline, dam restarts due to COVID-19 risk, Northern Sentinel

Tom Fletcher • Coastal GasLink, Trans Mountain, Rio Tinto, Site C slowed for holidays B.C. public health officials are extending a holiday season slowdown on major northern B.C. construction projects to break the cycle of COVID-19 infections at large work camps. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has posted a new order setting out a

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The Trans Mountain project faces a year of challenges and opportunity, CBC News

Safety concerns, Keystone XL uncertainties and unresolved Indigenous ownership questions linger over pipeline David Thurton • CBC News After a hiatus of about two weeks, construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is expected to resume today, but with a restricted workforce. The return to work marks the beginning of a critical year for the federal government-owned pipeline. In 2021,

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Federal judge knocks down two permits needed for proposed $2 billion Kalama methanol plant, Seattle Times ($)

By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter • Nov. 24, 2020 at 9:49 am | Updated Nov. 24, 2020 at 9:49 am A U.S. District Court judge in Tacoma struck down Army Corps of Engineers permits for a proposed $2 billion methanol plant in Kalama, Cowlitz County, because they were not the result of a full review of

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Canada Energy Regulator projects there may be no need for Trans Mountain expansion or Keystone XL, Financial Post ($)

Report says if more climate policies put in place, oil output will grow until 2039, but only enough to need Line 3 Mia Rabson • The Canadian Press • Nov 24, 2020  •  3 minute read OTTAWA — A new report from the Canada Energy Regulator projects that if Canada strengthens its climate policies to cut more

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Canada Energy Regulator projects there may be no need for Trans Mountain expansion or Keystone XL, Financial Post ($)

Report says if more climate policies put in place, oil output will grow until 2039, but only enough to need Line 3 Mia Rabson • Nov 24, 2020   OTTAWA — A new report from the Canada Energy Regulator projects that if Canada strengthens its climate policies to cut more greenhouse-gas emissions, neither the Trans Mountain

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Kamala Harris’s Fracking Record Scares Big Oil But Attracts the Left, Bloomberg ($)

Less than two hours after Kamala Harris was named Joe Biden’s running mate, President Donald Trump had cast the California Democrat as an oil industry and fracking foe. “She is against fracking. She’s against petroleum products,” Trump said at a White House news conference Tuesday. “I mean, how do you do that and go into

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Trans Mountain pipeline expansion could be at least two months late, National Observer ($)

By E. McIntosh | News, Energy, Politics, Ottawa Insider Last week, Trans Mountain said its pipeline expansion project is on schedule to be done by the end of 2022. But the environmental non-profit Wilderness Committee says it appears Trans Mountain has missed its window to start key construction work in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, meaning the project is at

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In a decarbonizing world, does it still make sense to spend taxpayer dollars on oil pipelines? Globe and Mail ($)

Thomas Gunton, Carolyn Fischer and David Wheeler • Published September 22, 2020 | Updated September 30, 2020 Thomas Gunton is professor and director of the Resource and Environmental Planning Program at Simon Fraser University. Carolyn Fischer holds the Canada 150 Research Chair in Climate Economics, Innovation, and Policy at the University of Ottawa. David Wheeler

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Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on schedule, on budget: CEO, Global News

By Dan Healing • The Canadian Press A year after construction was allowed to restart on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, its chief executive says the project is on budget and on schedule for completion by the end of 2022. The project is advancing as expected despite challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, a global slump in demand for fuel, a $5.2-billion

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New analysis proves Kalama methanol project is a climate disaster, Sightline Institute

Project backers are still spinning fairytales that deserve a debunking. Author: Eric de Place • (@Eric_deP) • September 3, 2020 at 11:09 am This article is part of the series Fracked Fuel & Petrochemical Projects in the Pacific Northwest With the release yesterday of a detailed climate review of the Kalama methanol proposal, Northwest policymakers have all

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Washington Ecology finds new climate impacts from Kalama methanol plant, OPB

New analysis projects more emissions from natural gas and methanol fuel markets By Cassandra Profita (OPB) • Sept. 2, 2020 6:07 p.m.PORTLAND, ORE An environmental analysis released Wednesday by the Washington Department of Ecology found additional sources of greenhouse gas emissions from the $2 billion methanol project proposed on the lower Columbia River. Ecology found the project would

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20 states sue over Trump rule limiting states from blocking pipeline projects, The Hill

By Rebecca Beitsch • 07/21/20 03:31 PM EDT A coalition of 20 states is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a rule that weakens states’ ability to block pipelines and other controversial projects that cross their waterways. The Clean Water Act previously allowed states to halt projects that risk hurting their water quality, but that

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Trump Weakens Major Conservation Law to Speed Construction Permits, New York Times ($)

By Lisa Friedman • Published July 15, 2020 | Updated Aug. 4, 2020 WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday unilaterally weakened one of the nation’s bedrock conservation laws, the National Environmental Policy Act, limiting public review of federal infrastructure projects to speed up the permitting of freeways, power plants and pipelines. In doing so, the Trump administration claimed it would save

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What you need to know about Trans Mountain expansion, Globe and Mail ($)

Darryl Dyck • The Canadian Press The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been cast as the saviour of Alberta’s energy sector – the single project that can lift the province’s economy out of a persistent slump and send oil prices rebounding. For Ottawa, it is a key test of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s long-standing promise

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Washington state deals setback to massive methanol plant, Seattle Times ($)

By Gene Johnson • The Associated Press • Nov. 22, 2019 at 10:28 am | Updated Nov. 24, 2019 at 2:20 pm   SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state dealt a setback Friday to efforts to build one of the world’s biggest methanol plants on the Columbia River, saying that five years in, its backers had failed to

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Inslee pulls support from two Western Washington natural gas projects, Seattle Times ($)

By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter • May 9, 2019 at 12:00 am Gov. Jay Inslee — citing the “accelerating threat of climate change” — withdrew support Wednesday for two Western Washington natural-gas projects: one in Kalama that would turn this fossil fuel into methanol, and another in Tacoma that would produce a transportation fuel for

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Controversial Kalama Methanol Plant May Be Misleading Public, Regulators, OPB

By Molly Solomon (OPB) • April 19, 2019 9:30 p.m.VANCOUVER, WASH. Nearly four years ago, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee touted a new company that was coming to Kalama to revolutionize the methanol market. On that sunny August day on the banks of the Columbia River, Inslee spoke alongside city and county leaders, business people and executives from NW

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Trump’s order would make it harder to block pipelines, and projects such as Longview coal-export terminal, Seattle Times ($)

By Hal Bernton • Seattle Times staff reporter • April 10, 2019 at 7:49 pm | Updated April 11, 2019 at 9:32 am President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that could make it harder for state governments to block energy-development projects such as a proposed coal-export terminal in southwest Washington that has failed to get a permit

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Trump signs executive orders to stop states from delaying energy projects, Globe and Mail ($)

Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner • Reuters • Published April 10, 2019 | Updated April 11, 2019 U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders in the heart of the Texas energy hub on Wednesday seeking to speed natural gas, coal and oil projects delayed by coastal states as he looks to build support ahead

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Le pétrole du Québec vient désormais d’Amérique du Nord, Radio-Canada

Le pétrole du Québec vient désormais d’Amérique du Nord Gérald Fillion • Publié le 2 novembre 2018 ANALYSE – Pendant des années, il était de bon ton de dire qu’il fallait produire du pétrole au Québec et construire un pipeline pancanadien pour réduire notre dépendance au pétrole étranger et pour faire baisser les prix. Or, l’idée

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Liberals to buy Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5B to ensure expansion is built, CBC News

Canadian public could also incur millions to construct expansion project with estimated price tag of $7.4B Kathleen Harris • CBC News The Liberal government will buy the Trans Mountain pipeline and related infrastructure for $4.5 billion, and could spend billions more to build the controversial expansion. Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced details of the agreement reached with Kinder Morgan

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Kinder Morgan issues ultimatum, suspends ‘non-essential’ spending on Trans Mountain pipeline, Globe and Mail ($)

KELLY CRYDERMAN AND IAN BAILEY | CALGARY | PUBLISHED APRIL 8, 2018 Kinder Morgan has suspended all “non-essential” spending on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion due to opposition from the British Columbia government, issuing an ultimatum that it won’t commit any more dollars to the $7.4-billion project unless it can get agreement from the province to stand aside

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Vancouver Energy ends bid to build nation’s biggest oil-train terminal along Columbia River, Seattle Times ($)

This was one of a series of high-profile fossil-fuel projects proposed in Washington state in recent years, all of which have faced strong opposition from environmentalists. By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter | Originally published February 27, 2018 at 2:09 pm | Updated February 28, 2018 at 10:04 am Vancouver Energy is ending a four-year quest to

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Washington governor rejects permit for oil-by-rail terminal, Seattle Times ($)

Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement Monday that he agreed with the recommendation of a state energy panel, which voted in November to deny the application of the Vancouver Energy project. By Phuong Le, The Associated Press • Originally published January 29, 2018 at 9:41 am | Updated January 29, 2018 at 4:29 pm SEATTLE

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EFSEC unanimous in vote against Port of Vancouver oil terminal, The Columbian

By Dameon Pesanti, Columbian staff writer OLYMPIA — The plan to build the largest rail-to-marine oil terminal in the United States suffered a major blow Tuesday at the hands of the state body tasked with its evaluation. Barely five minutes into a special meeting at the state Capitol, the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council

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Vancouver oil terminal report details unavoidable impacts, Portland Business Journal

By Pete Danko – Staff Reporter, Portland Business Journal The developer and opponents offered diametrically differing views of a final environmental review of the proposed Vancouver Energy oil terminal, released Tuesday, a week ahead of a long-awaited recommendation on the controversial project from Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. In a presentation in Olympia, EFSEC staff said a Final Environmental Impact

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Basic economics – not regulation – ended the Energy East pipeline, Globe and Mail ($)

Benjamin Dachis • Published October 5, 2017 Benjamin Dachis is associate director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute. TransCanada Corp. announced on Thursday that it would not proceed with its Energy East proposal to ship Western Canadian oil to Eastern Canada. Widely thought to have been felled by overzealous regulators, in truth the king

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Permits invalidated for big Washington state methanol plant, Financial Post ($)

The Associated Press • Sep 19, 2017  SEATTLE — U.S. environmental groups opposed to the Pacific Northwest becoming an international fossil fuels gateway scored a major victory when a Washington state board invalidated two permits for a $2 billion project to manufacture methanol from natural gas and export it to China. Last week’s decision by

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Board hits brakes on $1.8 billion methanol plant planned for Kalama, Seattle Times ($)

The state Shoreline Hearings Board found fault with permits for the planned $1.8 billion methanol plant and called for more analysis of greenhouse-gas emissions. By Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter • Originally published September 19, 2017 at 6:00 am | Updated September 19, 2017 at 7:03 am A state hearings board has found flaws in an

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How Benicia Valero Crude By Rail was Defeated, Benicia Independent

Three (or 10 or 12, or maybe 40?) factors… What happened in Benicia was amazing. It’s well worth our time as community activists and organizers to reflect a bit on how David went up against Goliath and won. I was there from the beginning in this Benicia episode, so I have a story to tell.

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Council denies Valero Crude-By Rail Project, Benicia Herald

By Donna Beth Weilenman • Martinez News Gazette Benicia City Council has unanimously denied a use permit for the controversial Valero Crude-By-Rail project, citing a federal board decision as well as a June 3 derailment that spilled 42,000 gallons of crude oil and caused a fire that burned 14 hours.But the matter didn’t end Tuesday

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Benicia: Valero crude oil-by-rail facility rejected by City Council, Mercury News

BENICIA — Environmentalists hoping to defeat Benicia’s crude-by-rail project scored a huge victory Tuesday night, handing Valero Refining Company a significant defeat in the process. In a unanimous decision from Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and the City Council, Valero’s application for a conditional use permit for a crude oil off-loading facility was denied. Vicki Dennis, who moved to

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Benicia nixes Valero plan to run crude oil trains through Sacramento, Davis, Roseville, The Sacramento Bee ($)

By Tony Bizjak | UPDATED SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 3:28 PM The Benicia City Council on Tuesday unanimously rejected a controversial plan by the Valero Refining Co. to ship crude oil aboard trains through Sacramento and other Northern California cities to its bayside refinery. The 5-0 vote, taken after four years of bitter debate, represents a

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Gambling with House Money, Earthjustice Blog

Go inside the trial of Tesoro-Savage, a crude oil shipping terminal proposed for the banks of the Columbia River. By Kristen Boyles & Janette Brimmer | Northwest Office When is a proposed project too risky, too much of a roll of the dice? Put another way, how much risk should communities and the environment be expected to bear

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Pacific Northwest Weighs Response to Risks Posed by Oil Trains, New York Times ($)

By Kirk Johnson | July 31, 2016 MOSIER, Ore. — The Chinook salmon that Randy Settler and other Yakama tribal fishermen are pulling from the Columbia River are large and plentiful this summer, part of one of the biggest spawning runs since the 1960s. It is a sign, they say, of the river’s revitalization, through pollution

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EFSEC hearings: Oil terminal opponents have their turn, The Columbian

Merits, risks continue to be weighed at adjudication hearings for Vancouver Energy proposal. By Brooks Johnson, Columbian Business Reporter | Published: July 16, 2016, 5:22pm The bells rang on the first round of oil terminal hearings this week as opponents started calling witnesses in the trial-like process guiding the fate of the Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. proposal.

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Quebec’s Jean Charest had private meeting with pipeline watchdog after TransCanada hired him, National Observer ($)

By Mike De Souza | News, Energy | July 7th 2016 Jean Charest gave political advice to members of a federal panel reviewing a major TransCanada Corp. pipeline project in a private meeting while he was under contract with the Alberta-based company, says Grégory Larroque, the spokesman and counsel for the former Quebec premier. The meeting, held at the downtown Montreal

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California Attorney General Kamala Harris challenges Benicia oil plan, The Sacramento Bee ($)

By Tony Bizjak, April 14, 2016 4:29 PM • Updated April 15, 2016 7:21 AM California Attorney General Kamala Harris weighed in on Benicia’s ongoing oil train debate on Thursday, arguing that the city has a legal right to reject a local refinery’s oil train plan and the obligation to review environmental risks. The debate involves

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California planners reject Valero oil-by-rail project, Reuters

By Kristen Hays HOUSTON (Reuters) – Valero Energy Corp’s proposed oil-by-rail project at its northern California refinery was quashed by local planners this week, the first such facility on the U.S. West Coast to end a years-long wait for permits with a rejection. The Benicia Planning Commission late Thursday unanimously renounced Valero’s request to build the

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Benicia plans more study of crude-oil train impacts, The Sacramento Bee ($)

A controversial proposal by the Valero Refining Company in Benicia to run two 50-car crude-oil trains a day through Sacramento and other Northern California cities to its bayside refinery has hit another slowdown. Benicia officials on Tuesday said they have decided to redo some sections of an environmental impact analysis of the project. The city

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Race to Build on River Could Block Pacific Oil Route, New York Times ($)

By Kirk Johnson VANCOUVER, Wash. — Environmental passions, which run hot in the Northwest over everything from salmon to recycling, generally get couched in the negative: Don’t fish too much, don’t put those chemicals up the smokestack, don’t build in that sensitive area. But here in southern Washington, some environmental groups are quietly pushing a builder

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Kinder Morgan pipeline benefits for B.C. ‘substantially overstated’: report, BIV

Kinder Morgan has “substantially overstated” the benefits to be gained from the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, according to a report released Monday (November 10) calling into question figures used by the oil company to promote the project.  By Tyler Orton • November 10, 2014, 11:20am Kinder Morgan has “substantially overstated” the benefits to be gained

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Trans Mountain expansion would be of far less benefit to B.C. than Kinder Morgan says: report, Financial Post ($)

A new report says Kinder Morgan is overplaying the economic benefits, and downplaying the costs of its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion The Canadian Press • Published Nov 10, 2014 CALGARY — A new report says Kinder Morgan is overplaying the economic benefits, and downplaying the costs of its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Simon

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