Burnaby residents could “suffer extreme consequences” if a major earthquake were to hit the Kinder Morgan pipeline and tank farm, according to a group of local citizens against the pipeline expansion.
Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion (BROKE) presented its final argument to the three-person National Energy Board panel on Thursday, at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre.
“A major earthquake in this region is not a remote possibility,” said BROKE’s lawyer Neil Chantler. “It’s not a question of if, but when.”
Chantler outlined the group’s concerns about a quake and at one point referred to the pipeline system as “time bombs in a Burnaby neighbourhood.”
“This is the wrong location for a major pipeline,” he said.
Chantler was flanked by three local residents: Ruth Walmsley, Kathy Mezei and Mary Hatch. Hatch is a retired teacher whose home was sprayed with oil in the 2007 pipeline rupture – a story Chantler shared with the panel.
“Following this disaster, you probably understand why Burnaby residents are opposed to another pipeline,” Chantler said.
At one point, the lawyer asserted that Kinder Morgan is not a responsible corporate citizen, which drew applause from the mostly-empty hearing room. The NEB has restricted the hearing to media and intervenors only, so the general public can’t attend, but the sessions are broadcast online.
Chantler also put a motion forward asking the panel to let the general public in, based on the open-court principle. The panel rejected the idea, while boos and chants of “let us in” were heard from outside the hotel.
While Chantler was presenting, 350.org and SumOfUs.org presented a petition to the NEB, calling on Prime Minster Justin Trudeau to reject the pipeline expansion.
In front of the hotel, about a dozen pipeline opponents listened to the proceedings over a loud speaker. One patron from the hotel’s casino walked up to the group and handed over $1,000 in cash to help with BROKE’s fundraising efforts. The group is hoping to raise $10,000 to pay for half of the work Chantler has done for free so far.
Tomorrow marks the last day of the hearings in Burnaby. The last week of the oral final arguments will resume in Calgary and wrap up on Friday, Feb. 5. After that, the NEB has until May 20 to deliver its recommendation to the federal cabinet, which has the final say on the pipeline. Yesterday, the government announced it was extending its deliberation time-frame from August to December to consult more with First Nations and allow for an upstream greenhouse gas emissions assessment.
