As someone who grew up at the base of Burnaby Mountain, I can say that the tank farm has never been a pretty sight.
But it did somehow blend into the landscape, with the green paint on the tanks somewhat hiding them from a distance.
You can’t, however, hide what’s going on there now as part of the pipeline expansion project as Trans Mountain adds more tanks to the site.
The group Protect the Planet recently posted some drone footage (see below) that shows the extent of the project and just how it has scorched our city’s biggest mountain.
Just look at all this damage as the project progressing. So many more tanks has made anyone who lives near the mountain nervous because it increases the risk that something could happen to one of them. It all feels so disgusting as our planet deals with a climate emergency.
The project is now set to cost nearly $9 billion more than it was last estimated to cost and faces more red tape that could add more costs and delays.
George Heyman, the B.C. minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and Bruce Ralston, minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, announced changes to the provincial environmental certificate - originally issued in 2017 and amended in 2019 - for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
Want to see the tank farm Trans Mountain has built by @SFU & @UniverCity_SFU? Check out this drone shot and the only road off the mountain in case of fire. #stopTMX #burnaby pic.twitter.com/wecqRuNIS6
— Protect the Planet (@PPSTMX1) March 5, 2022
They include a requirement that Trans Mountain provide research updates every five years on the behaviour of bitumen in the marine environment.
Other conditions include:
- requiring Trans Mountain to develop a shoreline baseline data report that consolidates data at hypothetical incident locations along the oil tanker shipping route;
- identifying exposure pathways in the event of a marine spill;
- identifying roles and responsibilities of local, provincial and federal authorities in the event of a marine spill;
- consulting with First Nations, local governments and relevant agencies to develop a report that will provide information to the federal government and its agencies for plans to address potential human health impacts from spills; and
- adding the Snuneymuxw First Nation to a list of impacted aboriginal groups
The Trans Mountain Corporation issued an update to the pipeline twinning project, which was last estimated to have a completion date of December 2022 and a capital cost of $12.6 billion. The expansion project is now estimated to cost $21.4 billion, with construction pushed into late 2023.
In its update, Trans Mountain attributed $2.6 billion in added costs to “scheduling pressures,” which includes permitting.
- With files from Nelson Bennett, Business in Vancouver
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
