Pipeline project in B.C.. Photo TRANS MOUNTAIN
Kinder Morgan Canada tried to bully the City of Burnaby, according to Mayor Derek Corrigan.
Corrigan said Ian Anderson, the companyās president, stopped by his office on Wednesday āto complainā about the permitting process around the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain expansion project.
He told the NOW Anderson put pressure on him āto do something.ā
āI explained to him that I canāt interfere. ... Itās a regulatory function,ā the mayor said. āHe was disappointed. He basically told me he was going to go to the NEB, and I said, āWell, youāve had success there on almost every occasion. Iām not surprised youāre going there, but I donāt see any reason for the National Energy Board to intervene. Our staff are doing their job.āā
An interview request with Anderson has yet to be returned.
The next day, Oct. 26, the Texas-based company announced it has asked the NEB to proceed with construction in Burnaby without local permits.
In a statement, Kinder Morgan said it spent āmany monthsā working āin good faithā to obtain municipal permits ā efforts that were āwithout success.ā
āThe cityās failure to act in a timely manner raises serious issues of jurisdiction that we are compelled to bring to the boardās attention,ā read the statement.
Kinder Morgan said its doors remain open to the City of Burnaby and it āwould welcome the opportunity to discuss a solution.ā
The twinned pipeline would carry bitumen from Edmonton to Burnaby at nearly three times the pipelineās current capacity. The project has faced fierce opposition from First Nations groups, the cities of Burnaby and Vancouver, environmental organizations and the provincial government.
The pipeline is scheduled to be up and running by December 2019, but if it gets pushed back, the company stands to lose between $30 and $35 million each month the project is delayed, according to an affidavit from Michael Davies, Kinder Morganās vice-president of operations.
Loss of revenue āis likely to exceedā 90 million each month.
In an email to the NOW, the NEBās James Stevenson said Kinder Morganās request is under review and the national energy regulator will take the time it needs āto make the right decision.ā
Corrigan maintained city staff have to do their ādue diligenceā when approving permits.
He refuted a statement made in Daviesā affidavit that referenced a National Observer story, which claimed āthe mayor believed the permitting process was a legitimate method of slowing down the project.ā
āThe National Observer contacted me to tell me that the affidavit misquotes them. I have never said something like that, and Iāve never indicated that,ā he said. āIām a lawyer. I understand exactly what weāre doing, and Iāve been in this job for a long time, so that kind of allegation is just mischievous.ā
If the NEB grants Kinder Morganās request, the mayor said it could set a very dangerous precedent.
āIt would be one in which the province would be forced to respond. The federal government would be put in a tremendously awkward position if the NEB felt they could walk in and start interfering with local government processes and overruling them simply because of allegations made by the proponent that this wasnāt moving as quickly as they wanted it to.ā
Corrigan added the city is prepared to take legal action if the NEB gives Kinder Morgan the go-ahead for construction.
āI would expect our MPs will be taking it up in the House of Commons. I canāt see that the provincial government wonāt have to enter and protect the integrity of our municipal processes because theyāre a result of provincial statutes,ā he explained. āThis isnāt going to be comfortable for Kinder Morgan. Theyāre bullying, and Iām not prepared to accept that. Our staff have to be able to protect the interests of our community, and they have to protect the ecology of the conservation areas and parks that (the pipelineās) moving through.ā
