The region's mayors are banding together to call on the federal government to halt Kinder Morgan's pipeline plan until the National Energy Board addresses complaints about the public hearing process.
Mayors from Burnaby, New Westminster, the City of North Vancouver, Vancouver, Victoria, Squamish and Bowen Island have all signed a mayors' declaration they will send to the provincial and federal governments.
"We know that our concerns are shared by communities throughout the province," said Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan in a media release. "This flawed hearing process disallows review of aspects of the proposal that could cause the most significant damage. It is critical for this project - and for all projects that can harm communities and the environment - that we have federal review processes that are rigorous and transparent."
In the joint declaration, the mayors express their "non-confidence" in the NEB process.
"It has become apparent that the NEB process does not constitute a 'public hearing' and is completely inadequate to assess the health and safety risks of a proposed pipeline through major metropolitan areas, and the potential risks of shipping bitumen oil to Burnaby and through Burrard Inlet, the Salish Sea and along the coastline of British Columbia," the statement reads. "It is no longer a credible process from either a scientific evidentiary basis, nor from a public policy and public interest perspective."
The declaration alleges the NEB is not independent from the oil industry it regulates. The mayors also raised concerns the board is not holding oral cross examinations in the Kinder Morgan pipeline hearing and the company's responses to information requests from hearing intervenors were in adequate.
"Because of the inadequacies inherent to the review process, hundreds of questions critical to public safety and environmental impacts remain unanswered," the declaration reads.
The mayors' statement comes on the heels of resolutions passed at the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which called into question the NEB's hearing process.
According to the NEB's code of conduct, board members and employees are not allowed to be involved "in any way with a business that deals in hydrocarbons or electricity."
The code also forbids holding shares in energy companies, which employees may be forced to sell when working for the NEB.
In an email to the NOW, NEB spokesperson said Tara O' Donovan said the board is "committed to a thorough and fair environmental assessment and regulatory review of the Trans Mountain Expansion project."
"Our processes are fair and guided by legislation, including the National Energy Board Act," O' Donovan wrote. "The board has determined that this hearing is fair to all participants and meets the requirements of natural justice. The hearing includes an opportunity to file evidence, two opportunities to ask Trans Mountain written questions, opportunities for Aboriginal communities to provide oral Aboriginal traditional evidence and the option of both written argument and oral summary argument."
O'Donovan also pointed out the NEB is dealing with 400 intervenors and 1,300 commentors in Kinder Morgan's pipeline hearing, the largest in the board's history. The NEB decided on a written hearing for Kinder Morgan, instead of an oral one, where intervenors can ask the company questions in person.
"In our experience, written responses to questions about highly technical matters can be an appropriate way to test the evidence. The NEB uses the hearing process to gather and test evidence that the board will use as it develops a recommendation to the federal government on whether or not this project should proceed," she wrote.
Kinder Morgan is proposing a $5.4 billion expansion to the Trans Mountain pipeline, the only line that runs oil from Alberta to B.C.'s West Coast. The proposal includes expanding the Burnaby Mountain tank farm and the Westridge Marine Terminal in the Burrard Inlet, where tankers fill up on crude. The proposed pipeline route passes through Langley, Surrey and Coquitlam, all municipalities that were noticeably absent from the declaration.
Full text: Mayors’ Declaration on Kinder Morgan National Energy Process
On behalf of our municipalities and our citizens who face the risks of Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline, the undersigned mayors wish to declare our “Non-Confidence” in the current NEB process.
It has become apparent that the NEB process does not constitute a ‘public hearing’ and is completely inadequate to assess the health and safety risks of a proposed pipeline through major metropolitan areas, and the potential risks of shipping bitumen oil to Burnaby and through Burrard Inlet, the Salish Sea, and along the coastline of British Columbia.
We have serious concerns that the current NEB panel is neither independent from the oil industry proponents nor ready or able to assess the ‘public interest’ of British
Columbians. It is no longer a credible process from either a scientific evidentiary basis, nor from a public policy and public interest perspective.
This is not a ‘public hearing’. It has become apparent that the evidence presented by
Kinder Morgan will never be tested by cross-examination. The second and final round of Intervenor Requests by written questions is nearing completion, and is proving to be inadequate. The proponent has failed to answer the majority of questions submitted by municipalities and other intervenors, and in IR round one the NEB panel has failed to require reasonable answers. Because of the inadequacies inherent to the review process, hundreds of questions critical to public safety and environmental impacts remain unanswered.
The loss of the standard Public Hearing from the application review process constitutes a significant erosion of the democratic rights of local governments, First Nations and citizens to cross-examine evidence presented, articulate concerns and voice opposition to applications.
The undersigned mayors therefore call on the federal government to put the current NEB process on hold until an adequate process is in place, and to call on the provincial and federal governments, through their appropriate and respective roles, to develop, in consultation with local governments, First Nations, and citizens, the restoration of a full Public Hearing process to be applied to the National Energy Board’s consideration of all applications for major industrial project proposals. We also call upon the Government of British Columbia to re-assert its role in Environmental assessment, and to establish a provincial process with proper public hearings to assess this very substantial private proposal.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan
New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps
City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto
District of Squamish Mayor Patricia Heintzman
Bowen Island Mayor Murray Skeels
