Kinder Morgan vows new safety measures

Firm says $100-million investment in B.C. will protect against oil spills

Kinder Morgan is pledging to protect against any threat of oil spills caused by its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, as opposition to the project mounts in British Columbia.

The energy- shipping giant showed off its marine and storage terminals in Burnaby, B.C., on Thursday, detailing new safety measures it is promising to introduce if the $5.4 billion expansion is approved.

Senior director of marine development Michael Davies said Western Canada Marine Response Corp., the agency responsible for spill cleanup, will invest $100 million in new equipment.

Davies said the agency — which is 50 per cent owned by Kinder Morgan — will acquire five new bases along the tanker route and add 100 new jobs if the National Energy Board approves the expansion.

“I think they’re a good organization today, and they exceed all the requirements set by Transport Canada,” he said. “Looking forward, if the expansion proceeds, we’ll see an enhancement of their capability.”

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 expansion would increase the number of tankers in Burrard Inlet to 34 per month from five.

The City of Vancouver and North Vancouver’s Tsleil-Waututh First Nation submitted critical expert evidence to the energy board last week that concluded the project would significantly raise the risk of spills. The Metro Vancouver regional council has formally opposed the project, and released a report concluding a major spill could expose up to 1 million people to toxic benzene fumes.

While Davies said Kinder Morgan is still reviewing the reports to see if the evidence is credible, the company has proposed several safety measures to minimize any threat.

New spill-response bases would be located at ports in Delta, Nanaimo, Sidney, Sooke and Ucluelet, he said. The $100 million investment is being paid for by a fee charged by Trans Mountain to shippers.

He also said that new rules would require tugs to stay with vessels for greater distances and pilots to remain on board longer.