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Trans Mountain wrote to Burnaby tank farm neighbours. This is what it said

A forest Grove resident contacted the Burnaby NOW on Friday, forwarding a copy of a letter received from Trans Mountain about an application for amendment the company was making to the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.
BURNABY mountain tank farm
Trans Mountain has been clearing land on the Burnaby Mountain tank farm. John Preissl photo

A forest Grove resident contacted the Burnaby NOW on Friday, forwarding a copy of a letter received from Trans Mountain about an application for amendment the company was making to the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

The Oct. 1 letter details its request for an amendment to the existing Burnaby facility wastewater permit, specifically regarding the discharge of treated water from storm water, hydrostatic test water and waste water from concrete works.

The letter is interested because Premier John Horgan and the BC NDP government is against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and have vowed to use every “tool” in their toolkit to stop it.

Could this be one of those tools?

The letter splits of the application into phase 1, which covers such things as new security fencing, clearing vegetation, construction of a new road and excavation of a pond to supply water for fighting a fire at the tank farm.

Phase includes these activities:

  • Relocation of Eagle Creek and Silver Creek
  • Installation of a new access road
  • Bulk excavation
  • Construction of 14 new tanks and associated berms

“These activities will also include hydrostatic testing of new tanks and piping throughout the site (to test integrity and confirm there are no leaks) and concrete works,” reads the letter. “Treated water will be discharged to Eagle Creek from the existing discharge location under BC ENV Permit #6945.”

Eagle Creek and Silver Creek have been the subject of some controversy over the years, especially during raining days when Trans Mountain has been doing construction work, leading to muddy water on the site.

“As part of the Major Amendment application, Trans Mountain has proposed permit limits for water discharge quantity and quality,” the letter read.

The letter also includes a series of measures Trans Mountain says it will take to “avoid soil erosion during all phases of construction.”