Dear Editor:
I would like to respond to the Jan. 20 letter from Kinder Morgan cheerleader, Sally Gillies. I don’t recall Mayor Corrigan saying that “he plans to waste more of Burnaby taxpayers’ money” (trying to stop the pipeline). On the contrary, I believe that he represents the wishes and values of most of the Burnaby community and I salute him for that.
How would Sally know that Kinder Morgan “are using the most modern science and engineering on the planet”? The NEB did not allow expert interveners to cross-examine them. If our federal government “finally recognized this extraordinary feat," they must have ignored reported findings by their appointed three-person ministerial panel as well as findings in the report to government from Terry Beech, Liberal MP for the riding of Burnaby North-Seymour. Alternative routes and alternative transportation methods were specifically excluded from the scope of the NEB review process. Why is that?
Sally stated that “while the environmentalists fought to have the risks reduced, Canada introduced a nation-wide carbon tax." I question how introducing a carbon tax reduces the risk to the health and safety of the SFU community above and the residents and schools below the proposed massive tank farm on the Burnaby Mountain slope. Readers who have been following this issue in detail are probably aware of the risk of diluted bitumen spills, the potential for a major fire at the tank farm, and the toxicity of released fumes. Residents are encouraged to read the report from the Burnaby Fire Department which identifies the problem of having the larger new tanks interspersed among the old ones that will not be upgraded to current seismic standards.
Kinder Morgan has not provided sufficient details on how they would respond to a major tank farm event. They have, however, distributed a pamphlet to businesses (but not to schools or homeowners) in the tank farm high-risk area that explains what to do “In the unlikely event of a pipeline leak or emergency." For example, if you smell “A
strong petroleum odor," you should “turn off vehicle engines," "leave the area immediately on foot, and in an upwind direction" and “eliminate ignition sources (keyless door entry, cell phone, flashlight)."
I will agree with Sally on one point – the environmentalists “never wanted the pipeline twinned, at all” but they are not “redrawing the line again." Their reasons for opposition have been the same since the expansion was proposed - the properties of diluted bitumen (hazardous fumes, sinks in water, corrosive), Kinder Morgan’s transfer of liability at the Westridge Terminal to the tanker companies, the size and expanded frequency of the tanker ships, collision risks to three bridges in the harbour, risk to sea life, global warming, violation of First Nations rights, overstated economic benefits, etc. - and the transported product is not even for domestic use.
In a previous letter to the editor (December. 2015), Sally wrote that “Kinder Morgan have operated in this capacity for 60+ years without covering the City of Burnaby and Vancouver Harbour in oil." Well, not really. Kinder Morgan didn’t have access to the oil sands via the Trans Mountain pipeline until 2005. Furthermore, the proposed product will be different – bitumen that has been diluted with toxic, carcinogenic material rather than being the lighter crude and refined oil that has been transported from Alberta in the past. There have been 82 reported spills and other environmental accidents surrounding the already existing pipeline, including the 2007 pipeline rupture that sprayed 11 Burnaby houses causing 250 residents to be evacuated and the 2009 event when 200,000 litres of oil seeped into a containment bay at the Burnaby tank farm.
There is much that the public are not aware of and that is unfortunate. Amidst the political rhetoric at all levels, lie important facts that should be revealed and not ignored. Although we will continue to need oil for the foreseeable future, efforts in Alberta should be directed toward clean energy projects rather than expanding the oil industry.
David Malcolm, Burnaby
