Burnaby MP Kennedy Stewart wants the National Energy Board to hold public hearings on Kinder Morgan's commercial tolling application in connection to a major pipeline expansion plan.
"It is critical the public be given maximum access throughout the entire approval process," said Stewart, in a press release. "Kinder Morgan's proposal could eventually result in a pipeline the size of Enbridge's Northern Gateway being built through one of the most densely populated regions in Canada. We need to hear as many details as possible as early as possible."
Kinder Morgan operates the Trans Mountain pipeline, which runs oil from Alberta to Burnaby. The company wants to twin the line to more than double capacity from 300,000 barrels of oil per day to 750,000, which has environmentalists worried about increased tanker traffic and oil spill risks.
Stewart sent a letter to the National Energy Board asking for public hearings in Burnaby, with residents, local governments, First Nations, industry representatives, non-governmental organizations and elected representatives to to participate as intervenors.
Kinder Morgan doesn't own or sell the oil; the company simply charges its customers a fee to use the pipeline. Kinder Morgan still has to apply to the National Energy Board for approval to twin the line; the commercial tolling application just seeks approval on how Kinder Morgan can charge customers.
"This application hearing will determine how much Kinder Morgan can charge. It also determines if there are different ways tolls can be applied," Stewart said. "This will be the only opportunity for any interested party to have input in the process and understand how this company intends to make and spend its money."
For instance, Stewart said people at public hearings could argue for an additional fee per barrel to cover the costs of adequate insurance or payments to First Nations communities.
Kinder Morgan's Lexa Hobenshield said the toll application is about the contracts and fees that will be charged to shippers who will move product through the proposed expanded pipeline.
"This toll application is not about approving proposed routing or construction of the proposed expansion project - that is a separate application that we expect to file in late 2013," she said. According to Stewart, the commercial tolling application marks the first of three phases of the pipeline approval process. The second phase deals with the pipeline route and should begin in late 2013 or early 2014.
The decision to hold public hearings is up to the National Energy Board, which was not available for immediate comment.
