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Pipeline route through city 'extensive, destructive'

Kinder Morgan’s new pipeline route through Burnaby would be “extensive and destructive,” according to a report presented by city staff at Monday’s council meeting.
Pipeline
It should be no surprise that Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion project is among the top news stories of 2016. The company plans to start construction next September and have it up and running by December 2019.

Kinder Morgan’s new pipeline route through Burnaby would be “extensive and destructive,” according to a report presented by city staff at Monday’s council meeting.

Dipak Dattani, deputy director of engineering, said the portion of the pipeline running through Burnaby is in a completely new corridor from the existing pipeline, and it will cause a host of problems.

“(Burnaby) is unlike other locations where they’re co-locating with existing rights-of-ways,” he said.

Sections of the new pipeline will mean infrastructure woes. Dattani pointed to the North Road crossing, which is jointly owned by Burnaby and Coquitlam, and said the project would “significantly constrain” the ability to repair, maintain or expand the bridge in the future.

The removal of trees for Kinder Morgan’s visual inspections is also worrisome, he said, specifically in the Brunette Conservation Area.

“We can see fragmentation of (the) conservation area as well as impact to Holmes Creek and Lost Creek,” he said, noting a pipeline rupture or spill would cause ecological damage to the Brunette and Fraser rivers.

“There will not be sufficient time for containment onsite and the release of dilbit into the waterways will have a devastating effect.”

Building part of the pipeline north of Broadway and along the west side of the Shellmont Tank Farm property would also mean removing many trees. It could impact part of a tributary to Eagle Creek, said Dattani.

The route would also require cutting down more trees and vegetation near the pipeline north of the Trans Canada Highway, Cottonwood Park and Lougheed Highway, said Dattani. He noted this would mean a loss of visual and noise buffers for residents and businesses in the area.

“Having this (pipeline) go through will really encumber the site,” he said of the route proposed for the east side of Cottonwood Park, which serves the residents of the southwest Cameron neighbourhood. “(It) will minimize the ability of the city to really use a portion of the land as a neighbourhood, in essence sterilizing the park for its intended public use.”

Dattani added the above-grade pipeline Stoney Creek crossing would impact city infrastructure along Lougheed Highway, and potentially the waterway if there was an accident.

Meanwhile, the portion of the pipeline built at Gaglardi Way and Lougheed Highway, and along Eastlake Drive, could hinder future road improvements, said Dattani.

Coun. Dan Johnston called the proposed route a “sad situation.” He said local streamkeepers have spent years building up the creeks and rivers.

“The city, as a partner, has gone in and bought property and created parkland along this corridor; a legacy that’s lasted 60 years that could be ruined in five minutes with a burst of a pipeline,” he said. “I think it’s pathetic that we are being told what we have to do, so a Texas millionaire can build a pipeline to bring Alberta oil to Vancouver so they can ship it to China and create greenhouse gases.”

Coun. Pietro Calendino agreed with his colleague.

“It’s not twinning of a pipeline, it’s totally a new route that’s going to affect new residents in the community plus a lot of our public lands,” he said.

Dattani recommended council file their statements of opposition with the National Energy Board and that a copy of the report be sent to all Burnaby MPs and the sustainable city advisory committee.

The City of Burnaby remains opposed to the project and is challenging the federal government’s decision in court.