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'Other' pipeline watching Enbridge

Kinder Morgan, owner of the lesser known proposed pipeline project through B.C., says it will work toward fulfilling the demands the provincial government wants met before it will support the company's expansion plans. But the company also says B.C.

Kinder Morgan, owner of the lesser known proposed pipeline project through B.C., says it will work toward fulfilling the demands the provincial government wants met before it will support the company's expansion plans.

But the company also says B.C.'s wish for greater compensation is between provinces.

Spokesman Andrew Galarnyk said the company wasn't caught off guard when Environment Minister Terry Lake said Kinder Morgan too must provide superior spill prevention and response systems before B.C. will consider its plan to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline, which runs from Alberta to Vancouver.

Those conditions are in line with those laid out last week by the B.C. government surrounding Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway project.

Galarnyk said Kinder Morgan intends to follow whatever guidelines the B.C. government puts in place.

"Our intention is to follow the processes that are established by all levels of government as part of this expansion and as you know, we're still in the early stages of our proposal," he said.

"We're going to work over the next several months to ensure that our proposal meets all the requirements to proceed."

Lake has also said B.C. must get a greater share of revenue from the project, but Galarnyk said that would have to be negotiated between B.C. and Alberta.

On Monday, Lake reiterated that the province's five conditions for pipeline support apply to all projects. He said not only does the province seek an unspecified "fair share" of the economic benefits of the pipeline to offset the financial costs of a potential oil spill, it is also looking for superior spill prevention and response measures.

"There can be billions of dollars that accrue to British Columbia or to the rest of Canada," he said.

"But if we were to have an adverse event that we could not control, that we could not clean up or recover from, then British Columbians would say it's just not worth it."