Province opposes Kinder Morgan pipeline after failure to meet requirements

The B.C. government says they don’t support the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Expansion project since they failed to meet the criteria set out by the province.

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The government set out stipulations that must be met by the energy giant before they can build a pipeline through Burnaby. The province felt Kinder Morgan failed to meet the five requirements they set out, leading them to their current decision.

The five stipulations include:

• Successfully completing the environmental review process and getting a recommendation by the National Energy Board
• Marine oil spill prevention, response, and recovery systems for B.C.’s coastline to mitigate the risks of heavy oil pipelines and shipments
• Addressing Aboriginal and treaty rights and allow First Nations to participate and benefit from heavy-oil projects
• The province receives a fair share of the revenue from the pipeline

In their submission to the Joint Review Panel, the province outlined a number of concerns, particularly when it came to Trans Mountain’s track record with oil spills. In the past 10 years, the company has had seven reported oil spills from its Canadian facilities.

Trans Mountain also has a poor track record with emergency response. The government cites the Ward Road gas release as an example, where there were five odour complaints submitted to the company, but the leak wasn’t identified until a week later. It was identified by Abbotsford Police and Fire Rescue Service.

The City of Burnaby aimed to put a stop to the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline project last year by launching a lawsuit against the company, citing several city bylaws they would be violating. The city lost the court case, but they plan to launch an appeal.

To read the full document submitted by the province to the Joint Review Panel, click here.