The City of Burnaby has issued a stop-work order to Kinder Morgan, the oil company surveying Burnaby Mountain for a new pipeline route.
City staff delivered the order on Tuesday, when Kinder Morgan work crews were on site at Burnaby Mountain, according to Coun. Sav Dhaliwal.
"We will stand up for our citizens, and we will stand up for our parks," Dhaliwal said. "We're not just fooling around here. We mean business."
Dhaliwal said the city doesn't have a problem with Kinder Morgan crews working on Burnaby Mountain, but cutting vegetation or digging holes is forbidden.
"They can walk around and do whatever they need to do, but they cannot cut trees or bore holes anywhere because this is a conservation area protected by city bylaws," he said.
City staffers have been keeping an eye on the company, which has been on the mountain since last week. The presence of chainsaws and markings on trees, presumably slated for removal, prompted the stop-work order, Dhaliwal explained.
The order is the latest development in a longstanding fight over access to Burnaby Mountain, much of which is city-owned land designated as a conservation area. Kinder Morgan needs to bore holes on the mountain (and install an area to lower equipment in by helicopter) to determine if the route is feasible for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, something the city is opposing.
Dhaliwal suggested the issue could end up in court and that the National Energy Board's recent ruling on the matter did not give Kinder Morgan the right to violate city bylaws. However, the NEB stated Kinder Morgan can access private or Crown land without the landowners' agreement or special permission from the board. The decision applies to surveying activities, not actual pipeline construction, which would require agreements with landowners. (If agreements aren't reached, the NEB can still grants the pipeline company land access.)
Kinder Morgan spokesperson Ali Hounsell confirmed the company received the stop-work order because crews were planning to cut down a rotten tree.
"It was determined by our arborist, and for safety reasons there has to be one tree removed," she told the NOW.
RCMP were also onsite, Hounsell added.
According to Hounsell, Kinder Morgan will continue working while consulting lawyers regarding the city's order. The work is expected to wrap up on Sept. 30.
"We believe the NEB Act, section 73, confirmed our rights to go into the area to conduct the environmental and engineering studies needed," Hounsell said.
