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 January 2014

Andrew Weaver, MLA (Oak Bay-Gordon Head)

Intervener Status for the Proposed Kinder Morgan
Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

While many people have expressed concern over the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has not garnered the same level of attention. However, if approved, the twinning of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which would transport diluted bitumen (DilBit) from a terminal near Edmonton, Alberta to a facility in Burnaby, BC, would nearly triple the existing capacity of DilBit from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day. That is almost double the capacity of the Northern Gateway pipeline, which would transport 525,000 barrels per day.

Once the DilBit arrives in BC, it will then be exported overseas. This will dramatically increase tanker traffic through Burrard Inlet, the Salish Sea, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A pipeline rupture or tanker incident would have a profound effect on our pristine and economically significant coastal waters. It is for this reason that I will be seeking intervener status in the upcoming National Energy Board (NEB) hearings on the proposed Kinder Morgan expansion.

Gaining intervener status means that I would be granted the right to participate in the NEB hearings. This would give me the opportunity to question those giving submissions and to provide evidence of the risks associated with the proposed pipeline. I will be submitting two separate applications for my request for intervener status.

In the first application I will apply as an expert. I will use my extensive background as a scientist, and specifically my experience and early work in physical oceanography, to argue that I am well positioned to comment on, and provide recommendations for, a number of the issues concerning the transport of DilBit through our coastal waters.

In the second application I will apply as a representative. For this I will argue that as the MLA of the Oak Bay-Gordon Head (OBGH) riding on Vancouver Island, I represent a constituency that would be directly affected by an oil spill in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

As the due date for these applications approaches, a number of other city councils and organizations will also be requesting intervener status on this highly controversial proposal. With the NEB hearings likely beginning sometime in the next few of months, I encourage you to learn more about the process and the potential benefits and costs of increasing DilBit tanker traffic along our coastline.

To view the official media release regarding my application for intervener status, please click here.

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