Kinder Morgan wants to do a ‘site inspection’ of Colony Farm regional park for the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline.
A second round of protests against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline may be coming soon.
The Vancouver Sun reports, “A deal between Metro Vancouver and Kinder Morgan to allow limited access to two regional parks for site inspections on the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline is expected to trigger a round of protests against the expansion project similar to the one on Burnaby Mountain last fall. Metro Vancouver said licence agreements had been concluded with Kinder Morgan, which would provide the pipeline company with limited access to 10 properties, including Surrey Bend and Coquitlam’s Colony Farm and five sites around the Coquitlam landfill, for ‘site inspections’.”
The article adds, “The licensing agreements, which still have to be finalized by staff and approved by the board, states Kinder Morgan would only be allowed to perform visual surveys and take measurements and photographs on the sites, and only while accompanied by Metro staff. The conditions also prohibit the use of vehicles or machines, while Metro can terminate the licenses with 24 hours notice.”
Metro Vancouver has not adopted a position on the Trans Mountain pipeline but has applied for intervener status in the National Energy Board hearings on the project. The newspaper notes, “Meanwhile, the mayors of Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, City of North Vancouver, Victoria, Squamish and Bowen Island will ask Metro Vancouver Friday [April 24] to support a declaration calling for the federal government to put the pipeline proposal on hold until the National Energy Board addresses the significant deficiencies in its public hearing and review process.”
The Texas-based energy giant Kinder Morgan wants to increase the capacity of the Alberta to British Columbia pipeline from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day. The project would produce an estimated 270 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over a 35-year period. About 100 people were arrested last November, including Council of Canadians activist Brigette DePape, for protesting against surveying work being done for the pipeline on Burnaby Mountain.
For an overview of why we are opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline, please click here. For blogs about resistance to the pipeline, click here.
