Trans Mountain pipeline puts boots on ground

Kinder Morgan is excited to have project advancing, Ian Anderson says.

If you’ve been tracking the progress of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, you’ll know the pace of activity is accelerating and moving forward in a visible way, as we continue to build this milestone achievement for Canada’s economy.

Our recent groundbreaking ceremony on the territory of the Enoch Cree Nation, with Chief William Morin, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi and Premier Rachel Notley, was a powerful symbol of Trans Mountain’s partnership with this Indigenous community.

It confirmed Trans Mountain’s support among Indigenous communities is based on mutual respect and a commitment to creating economic opportunities.

It heralds acceleration of a multi-year construction program that will see thousands of Canadian workers expanding a pipeline system that has reliably carried western Canadian oil to tidewater for more than 65 years.

The government of Canada has demonstrated its commitment

to support the project to completion. A federal indemnity agreement is in place to ensure the project has the funding to proceed as Kinder Morgan Canada carries out a shareholder vote to transfer ownership of this critical infrastructure asset.

Federal involvement with Trans Mountain is not unique to the current project.

The Trans Mountain pipeline system dates back to its formal incorporation on March 31, 1951, through a special Act of Parliament by the government of Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent.

Construction of the expansion project began in September 2017 in Burnaby, B.C., with site preparation and dock infrastructure development at Westridge Marine Terminal, the western terminus for the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Construction preparation is also underway at the nearby Burnaby terminal, and the kickoff of construction-related activities at other terminals and pump stations in our system is imminent.

Communities, workers,

local businesses and Indigenous groups have been waiting to share in the success of the project since we announced in 2012 our intention to proceed. Our partnership with the Enoch Cree Nation is an example of how the project is being built through collaboration and building meaningful relations with tangible, lasting benefits.

The Enoch Cree event was highlighted by a special blessing that enables development of Enoch’s property as an equipment stockpile site.

Trans Mountain will store on this site all of the construction materials and equipment needed to build the Edmonton and Strathcona County portion of the pipeline.

Afterwards, Enoch will use the site improvements to springboard development of an industrial subdivision.

Pipeline construction schedules proceed in phases, in multiple locations, and provide direct, well-paying employment for thousands of Canadians.

Timing of each phase is fine-tuned to meet regulatory requirements, such as Environment Canada’s restriction on tree cutting during an annual bird-nesting season.

That restriction is lifted

each year in late August.

Over the next six months, there is phased work, such as surveying, land clearing and mitigating of environmental impacts in sensitive areas.

These activities are literally the groundwork leading to the laying down of pipe, which we expect to commence in early 2019. This phased process was followed for Trans Mountain’s anchor loop expansion through Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park in 2007-08, and it’s more or less the same template for any other federally regulated pipeline project.

Once approvals are in place, construction begins with activities such as surveying and land clearing.

No one is more excited than we are. Getting boots on the ground in two provinces is the realization of the hard work and dedication of the thousands of Albertans and British Columbians who have been a part of this process for more than six years.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done to bring us to where we are today and are excited to demonstrate the benefits it will bring to Canadians. Ian Anderson is president of Kinder Morgan Canada.