Once again, the City of Burnaby is criticizing the National Energy Board for not forcing Kinder Morgan to answer more questions in the pipeline expansion hearing.
According to the mayor’s office, the NEB ruled that Kinder Morgan has to give more information for only three of Burnaby’s 217 unaswered queries. Out of nearly 1,300 intervenor questions filed by Abbotsford, Vancouver, Port Moody, North Vancouver and Edmonton, the NEB required full answers for only 32, according to the city.
“The failure of the NEB to require any reasonable effort by Kinder Morgan to fully answer written questions is very disturbing,” said city lawyer Greg McDade in a press release.
“The process was inadequate at the beginning, but it has now gone from a sham to a farce,” said Mayor Derek Corrigan.
Burnaby’s criticism comes on the heels of a public relations tour featuring NEB chair Peter Watson. Watson visited Victoria, Vancouver and Burnaby, and he met with Corrigan privately and presented at a meeting of Metro Vancouver mayors, many of whom signed a declaration of non-confidence in the NEB.
Kinder Morgan’s pipeline application is before the NEB, which decided there would be no oral cross-examinations in the hearing. Instead, intervenors, like the City of Burnaby, must submit written questions to Kinder Morgan. Burnaby, however, has not been satisfied with the company’s response, stating that many queries have gone unanswered.
The NOW tried to reach the NEB for comment, but no one was available.
