Dear Editor:
Re: Mayor wants public consultation on pipeline, Burnaby NOW, March 7 and Where is the pipeline outcry, Letter to the Editor, Burnaby NOW, March 14.
Yes, the pipelines should raise concerns, both in Kitimat and in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet.
In Kitimat, the pipeline will be for the tar sands crude - bitumen.
Besides the environmental and aboriginal concerns along the pipeline, there is a concern about a safe passage of the big tanker ships through narrow channels leading into the Hecate Straight and into the Pacific Ocean.
Burrard Inlet concerns: the pipeline ships crude, refined and semi-refined products to Burnaby. Tankers fill up at the Westridge Marine Terminal in North Burnaby to take oil to the U.S. and Asia. An expanded pipeline would mean more tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet. The first pipeline from Edmonton is older than the present Burnaby urban or industrial development. There are two Chevron and Shell refineries, supplying the gas not only to Burnaby citizens.
I had nowhere mentioned the fact, that there is a very limited passage under the Second Narrows Bridge, leaving only one metre clearance under the bottom of the tanker.
This limits not only the size of tankers used, also the number of them to pass "safely." I live in Burnaby Heights and was able to watch from the New Brighton Park a tanker escorted by five pilot ships - one in front, two on sides and two behind the tanker, under the Second Narrows Bridge. East from the bridge is also the only water line from North Shore to the Burnaby Heights main water reservoir supplying the Metro Vancouver with drinking water. These are the concerns to the proposed Burrard Inlet dredging.
The Kinder Morgan line rupture accident is not relevant to the above concerns. It was caused by a company that did the excavation during their work along the Barnet Highway, not having proper maps/or consulting Kinder Morgan about their work in the area. Most of the houses in the subdivision must have been built around the pipeline leading to the nearby Shell refinery, already in place.
When we moved to the North Burnaby 38 years ago, when I first opened the bedroom window, I noticed the smell from the refinery. During the last decade, maybe longer, this happens very rarely.
With the gas to fill our cars, we are more concerned about the price than where it comes from. But only few are free to choose a lifestyle without a car. Most of the elementary-grade children are driven to schools. Even those, who use public transit for work need cars for shopping, appointments, children's extracurricular activities - just a few necessities on the list.
The answer to the twinning of the present pipeline is not a straightforward yes/ no. Before any public consultation, there should be appropriate reviews available from both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the National Energy Board.
It should also include refining possibilities in Alberta, so less volume will be needed to pass through pipelines.
Alena Torn, Burnaby
