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Trans Mountain pipeline workers ordered to down tools

Published by , Senior Editor
World Pipelines,


The battle between the City of Burnaby and Kinder Morgan over the extension of the Trans Mountain pipeline is heating up after municipal officers issued stop work orders to crews surveying the pipeline's proposed route under Burnaby Mountain on Tuesday.

Energy giant Kinder Morgan wants to bore a hole under the mountain in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby to Burrard Inlet as part of a proposal to nearly triple the capacity of the existing pipeline, but the city has vowed to block the project however it can.

The 2 km section though the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area would link the Burnaby Terminal and the Westridge Marine Terminal.

City staff were posted at the park on Wednesday when the “stand off” occurred to ensure no bylaws were violated after the crews cut down about a half dozen healthy trees on Tuesday, Mayor Derek Corrigan said.

The National Energy Board ruled the company is allowed to conduct surveying activities on city land, but Corrigan argues the ruling doesn’t give it free reign to violate bylaws including tree cutting or shutting down roads.

Kinder Morgan argues that cutting down trees and trimming foliage in a 20 x 20 m area (so it can lower in equipment by helicopter) are part of legal surveying activities, Trans Mountain spokesperson Ali Hounsell said. “We decided to leave the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area for now while we consult with our legal team on what to do.”

“Our perspective is we have the authority to do that,” Hounsell said.

In order to determine if it’s feasible for the company to drill a 2 km section through the mountain to lay pipeline, it needs to drill a test bore hole to determine what is below the surface, Hounsell said.


Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: CBCMetro News

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/04092014/trans-mountain-pipeline-workers-ordered-to-down-tools/

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