British Columbia approves oil pipeline to coast from Alberta

VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) — Canada's Pacific Coast province of British Columbia on Wednesday approved the expansion of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline from the Alberta oil sands that would allow oil exports to Asia.

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark announced the conditions her government placed on the project have been met with a deal that will help fund environmental protection projects.

Both the federal government and the provincial government of British Columbia and Alberta are trying to balance the oil industry's desire to tap new markets in Asia against the concerns of environmentalists.

British Columbia's conditions included world-leading oil spill response and prevention, aboriginal participation in the project, a fair share of its economic benefits for the province, and successful environmental reviews.