Kinder Morgan's proposed pipeline expansion in the Brunette River watershed is a bit too close for comfort for the Sapperton Fish and Game Club and the City of New Westminster.
Elmer Rudolph, the club's president, is concerned a spill on the river would damage salmon habitat and oil would flow downstream into New Westminster. He's planning to raise his concerns about the pipeline at an upcoming meeting organized by the City of New Westminster.
"Any spills from that pipeline, that would flow into those creeks and would flow into the Brunette River," Rudolph told The Record. "What's at stake is the renewed vitality of the Brunette River salmon fishery, ... where the river has been brought back from being extinct."
Thanks to the club's restoration efforts, dating back to 1969, the Brunette is now a healthy waterway for spawning salmon.
Kinder Morgan wants to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline, which runs oil from Alberta to Burnaby. The existing pipeline, which has been operating since the 1950s, does not go through New Westminster, and the proposed route for the second pipeline runs through the Brunette River watershed on the Burnaby and Coquitlam side, close to the New West border.
Rudolph is concerned about a four-kilometre stretch, where the route comes within 200 to 50 metres of the river, while crossing five tributaries.
Rudolph's concerns are just one of many up for discussion at the City of New Westminster's Jan. 22 town hall meeting on the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.
The town hall meeting is a partnership with local MLA Judy Darcy and MPs Peter Julian and Fin Donnelly, all New Democrats.
There will be a panel discussion with representatives from the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, New Westminster Environmental Partners, Sapperton Fish and Game Club, and a city-hired environmental consultant who will be working on New Westminster's submission to the National Energy Board.
"We will have a balance of views on the panel," said Mark Allison, the city's manager of strategic initiatives and sustainability. "It's an excellent opportunity to find out more about the proposal and the process and for the public to express any concerns that they want the city to bring forward to the National Energy Board."
The City of New Westminster was granted intervenor status in the NEB hearing, and concerns or questions raised at the meeting could be used in an upcoming information request the city is submitting to the board.
The meeting is set for Thursday, Jan. 22, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Anvil Centre, at 777 Columbia St. To watch a live-stream version, go to www.newwest.tv. The city is encouraging anyone wishing to chime in on Twitter to use the hashtag #pipelineNW.
