BURNABY, B.C. – Kinder Morgan is pledging to safeguard against any possibility of oil spills caused by its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
The energy-shipping giant hosted a media tour today of its marine and storage terminals in Burnaby, B.C., amid mounting public opposition of the $5.4 billion project.
Senior director of marine development Michael Davies says Western Canada Marine Response Corp., the agency responsible for spill cleanup, will invest $100-million in new equipment.
“We believe the system we have in place today is a very good one, that goes above and beyond what’s required,” he said.
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Davies says the agency – which is 50 per cent owned by Kinder Morgan – will acquire five new bases along the pipeline route and add 100 new jobs if the National Energy Board approves the expansion.
Kinder Morgan hopes to triple the bitumen-carrying capacity of its existing Trans Mountain line by laying almost 1,000 kilometres of new pipe between Edmonton and Burnaby.
The City of Vancouver and a North Vancouver First Nation submitted critical expert evidence to the energy board last week that concluded the project would significantly raise the risk of spills.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, who has been a longtime critic of the project, says the new equipment wouldn’t assuage the city’s concerns.
“How can the National Energy Board come to a decision without concrete numbers, without having evidence presented that can be vetted?” he asked.
“Their record is in fact one that is incredibly tainted, and one that doesn’t give people much in the way of confidence. They’re here to make money.”
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