Kinder Morgan hearings delay: a win for pipeline opponents

This week the National Energy Board (NEB) announced that it was ‘stopping the clock’ on its review of Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline expansion, which will delay the NEB’s final recommendation – and the ultimate federal Cabinet decision – until 2016.

Tanker under Second Narrows Bridge
Photo: Sarama (www.livingsalishsea.ca)

The delay is due to the fact that Kinder Morgan changed a portion of its ‘preferred route’ for the new pipeline after it filed its application to the NEB last December. The NEB is providing the extra time so that Kinder Morgan can carry out additional studies on the new route, which involves tunneling through Burnaby Mountain. When the route change came to light in May, many community members called for the NEB review to be paused or restarted, particularly those in Burnaby who could be most directly affected by the route switch.

There’s no doubt that major flaws remain in the NEB review process: there still won’t be any in-person cross-examination of the evidence presented, Kinder Morgan is still failing to adequately answer the questions intervenors have been asking, and the project’s climate impacts are still barred from discussion.

However, the delay is most definitely a win for all of us who have been criticizing both the project and the process.

The longer the review takes, the more likely it is that one of the many obstacles to the project’s completion will be successful, including changing market forces, a raft of lawsuits from First Nations and others, and citizens from across BC mobilizing to oppose the project. Perhaps most notably, the final decision to approve or deny the project will be made by whoever wins the next federal election in 2015, giving citizens a chance to hear where all the parties stand on Kinder Morgan, and the opportunity to vote accordingly.  

If you’re an intervenor or a commenter in the NEB review, here are the key new deadlines you should be aware of:

·         Deadline for commenters to file letter of comment: March 16, 2015 (commenter workshops will now take place in February 2015)

·         Deadline for intervenors to file written evidence: March 16, 2015

·         Deadline for intervenors to file written argument: July 29, 2015

·         Oral hearings: July 2015

·         NEB releases its final report and recommendations: 25 January, 2016

You can find out more from the NEB’s table of revised hearing events, and as always, if you have any questions or comments, please get in touch at alexandra@georgiastrait.org.win

Who will have a voice in the Kinder Morgan hearings?

Yesterday the National Energy Board (NEB) denied nearly half of those who applied to take part in the upcoming review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion their preferred method of participation.

Of the 2,118 applications received, 452 were ‘downgraded’ by the NEB from intervenor to commenter status, and 468 were denied participation altogether. In addition, 400 were granted intervenor status and 798 who requested commenter status were granted it.  You can find out if you were accepted as an intervenor or commenter, or if your application was denied.

With this decision from the NEB, hundreds of individuals and groups have now been shut out of the hearings, and denied the chance to officially voice their important concerns about Kinder Morgan's tar sands pipeline (and the 400+ tankers it would bring through the Georgia Strait each year).

It’s a sad day for democracy in Canada, when nearly a thousand people who stepped up to take part in a complex regulatory process to have their say about a project of national significance are shut out of the hearings.

Georgia Strait Alliance has been granted permission by the NEB to fully participate in the hearings as an intervenor, and we will do our best to use this as an opportunity to represent the voices of those who have been excluded.

For those who have been accepted as commenters or intervenors, yesterday’s announcement also came with some important information about timelines and advice on how to participate. Here are a few highlights:

·         NEB workshops for commenters & intervenors begin next week and run throughout the process

·         Submitting requests for information to Kinder Morgan begins May 2014

·         Commenters can file one letter, and must do so by September 9, 2014

·         Intervenors can provide written evidence, ask questions, present written and oral argument

·         Oral hearings by intervenors will take place in February 2015 (location and exact date not yet announced)

·         NEB must complete its review by July 2, 2015

UPDATE (April 21, 2014): The City of Burnaby has prepared a very comprehensive information package to help intervenors navigate the process, and will also be holding their own workshops.

We'll keep posting more information about the hearing process – and equally important actions you can take outside the process – in the weeks to come, so stay tuned for updates!

Coming soon: your chance to take part in the Kinder Morgan hearings

Next week, the National Energy Board (NEB) will start taking applications for public participation in its review of Kinder Morgan’s proposal to expand the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

When the NEB publishes the application form (we expect on January 15^th), you’ll have a short window of time (likely 30 days) to get you application in to the NEB. If you don’t apply during that window, you won’t be able to officially comment on the project when the hearings roll around a few months later.

The bottom line? If you want to tell the government what you think about Kinder Morgan’s pipeline plan, you need to fill in that form – and start preparing now.

Photo by James Fehon

Step 1. Sign up for updates from the NEB so you find out right away when the call for participation opens.

Step 2. Learn more about what’s involved in participating in a NEB hearing process. The NEB has yet to release full details, but here’s what we’re expecting. When you fill out the application form, you can ask to be a ‘Commenter’ (submit a letter of comment) or ‘Intervenor’ (requires greater time commitment, allows you to take part in oral hearings, and allows you to ask for information of Kinder Morgan – and them of you). To be able to participate, the NEB wants you to show that you are either ‘directly affected’ (eg. live or own property along the pipeline or tanker route, or have a job that could be affected by a spill etc.) or have ‘relevant information or expertise’ (ie. knowledge of a local place, or information about a relevant business sector such as tourism or recreation).  Whatever the form ends up saying, if you feel that you will be impacted in any way by Kinder Morgan’s project, it’s worth submitting an application and going on record that you want your voice to be heard.

Find out more:

•        Using your voice: participating in the NEB’s review of Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and tanker proposal (2-page briefing prepared by Raincoast, Sierra Club and Pipe Up Network)
•          Let BC Decide (website from Burnaby MP Kennedy Stewart)
•          NEB PowerPoint presentation

Step 3. Get advice. We know the process looks daunting, and we want to make sure that everyone who cares about this issue gets the support they need to have their say. Once the NEB opens the call for applications, we and other organizations will be working together to hold workshops to offer advice and help you fill out the form. We’ll also distribute a guide to filling out the form, and will be available by email and phone to offer advice. Stay tuned to our website for more details.  In the meantime, MP Kennedy Stewart is holding a workshop in Burnaby on January 25^th, and his office is another good port of call for information and advice.

There are all kinds of critiques we can make about the NEB process – restricting public participation and not taking climate change into account being high on the list– but it is your one opportunity to formally state your opinion, so make sure you don’t miss out.

And don’t forget to spread the word!

Share your concerns about Kinder Morgan’s proposal with your friends, family, neighbours and colleagues, and encourage them to get involved – whether it’s by registering to take part in the NEB hearings, contacting your MP or MLA, or getting active with one of the many community groups springing up to oppose this project.

We've got work to do, Salish Sea Savers!

Year-end reviews are supposed to be positive and upbeat, as everyone heads into the holidays wanting to think of nothing more than festive parties, mulled wine and relaxing time off with family and friends.

But it’s hard to relax and stay positive when it feels like we are swimming against a tidal wave of fossil fuel developments that threaten to transform BC from a green leader to an environmental laggard.

Photo credit: Leadnow on Flickr

Especially when we have a week like this one. Monday, Kinder Morgan formally files their application to the National Energy Board to triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Tuesday, Port Metro Vancouver closes public comments on the environmental assessment of a new coal terminal in Surrey. (Incidentally, on the same day, a 3-week public comment period opened on the type of environmental assessment that should be required for a new LNG project that would ship 40 LNG tankers through Howe Sound each year). Thursday, the Joint Review Panel approves the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline.

Really? They couldn’t stagger their announcements and give us a chance to reflect before coming back the next day with another round of threats to our coast, communities and climate? Of course, even a moderate conspiracy theorist might suggest that the timing is deliberate, and fossil fuel proponents and governments are trying to bury controversial news in the midst of holiday madness.

Although Kinder Morgan’s mammoth application (2 metres tall if printed out, as their press department was keen to point out) will take time to digest, one or two deeply disturbing facts jumped out at me. For example, a spill off Salt Spring Island could coat 427 kilometres of our world-famous beaches in oil and even without a spill. And the impacts of routine tanker traffic resulting from the expanded pipeline on our southern resident killer whales will be “high magnitude, high probability and significant.” We responded to Kinder Morgan’s application by releasing the preliminary results of our Salish Sea Spill Mapping project with our partners at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, showing what a Kinder Morgan oil spill could look like. The bottom line is this: oil can cover long distances quickly, and a spill anywhere in the Salish Sea would impact much of the south coast: our beaches, our national parks, our waterfront property – and our killer whales.

Meanwhile, a coal terminal proposed in Surrey would send 8 million tonnes of coal each year on open barges down the Fraser River and through the Strait of Georgia to Texada Island, bound for export to Asian markets. When burned, this coal would be responsible for about 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – more than a quarter of BC’s total annual emissions.

And then we have Enbridge Northern Gateway, a project that would ship supertankers laden with toxic diluted bitumen from the tar sands through the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest on the planet. It’s also a project that is opposed by the majority of British Columbians, and that has been formally rejected by the Government of BC, the Union of BC Municipalities and over 100 First Nations. It has lit a fire in BC’s environmental movement that harkens back to the days of Clayoquot Sound, and faced massive community resistance from residents of Northern BC – many of whom are today vowing to do whatever it takes to stop Northern Gateway from being built.

And that’s why, dear readers, this will in fact be a positive post and will escape a title along the lines of “Merry Pipemas, Mr. Grinch”. All of these reckless projects are ultimately about using BC to export fossil fuels – and climate change – to the world in order to increase the profits of an already wealthy industry. BC carries the risk – to our environment, our economy, our communities, our health and our reputation – and doesn’t get the rewards. And for this reason and countless others, these projects have met with determined, diverse and organized opposition. British Columbians are standing up for themselves, and for this amazing corner of the earth we are so lucky to call home – and will continue to do so whatever politicians in Ottawa and Victoria decide. We have a different vision for our future and we will stand together to make it a reality.

So for our part, with our Save the Salish Sea campaign, we want to highlight the combined impacts of these projects: the risks from the sheer number of ships jostling for position in our crowded waters; of everyday impacts on marine life even in the absence of an accident; of the total ‘carbon spill’ that will result when all these fossil fuels are burned. It’s high time everyone – citizens, campaigners, and governments – paid more attention to that big picture threat.

I am grateful to all of you who are stepping up and getting involved, whether you’re sending emails to decision makers, coming out to town hall meetings, or quietly bending the ear of your neighbour at a holiday party. It all counts... and it all deserves a toast! So, here’s to you all! Wishing you and yours the very best for the holiday season, and we look forward to working together to Save the Salish Sea in the New Year.

Helping North Vancouver make up its mind about Kinder Morgan

As federal Ministers prepare to head west to beat the drum for tar sands pipelines, one local government took a more balanced approach. Last week, the District of North Vancouver held a public information session to allow local residents to hear both sides of the argument and make up their own minds about whether the risks of Kinder Morgan’s expansion plan outweigh its benefits.

Speaking at the North Van public meeting

Photo by Ben West

I was invited to share GSA’s concerns as part of a panel that included representatives from Kinder Morgan, Port Metro Vancouver and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.  I talked about the disastrous environmental, community and economic impacts of an oil spill in North Van’s ocean backyard; the fact that, as we have been warned time and time again, we have nowhere near the physical, human or financial resources required to clean up a massive spill of conventional crude, let alone much riskier diluted bitumen; and that approval of the Kinder Morgan project would guarantee a ‘carbon spill’ with every tanker load of fuel that’s burned, and lock us into an unsustainable future that most British Columbians don’t want.

Much of the audience apparently shared our concerns, and Kinder Morgan was given a tough grilling during the Q&A. Some of the most pointed questions were about exactly what chemicals are contained in the ‘diluent’ that is mixed with bitumen to allow it to flow through the pipeline (the answer was unclear), and why Kinder Morgan’s research claims diluted bitumen would float for 10 days, while other studies suggest it would sink much sooner.

But the comment that stuck with me the most came from Reuben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. He said: don’t take my word for it, or Kinder Morgan’s – find out what’s going on for yourself. In that spirit, here’s a link to a full recording and news coverage of the evening.  

If you’re a North Vancouver resident and you have concerns about Kinder Morgan’s new pipeline, now is the time to speak up. Unlike most other municipalities in the Lower Mainland, which have expressed their opposition to the Kinder Morgan proposal, the District of North Vancouver has yet to take a position. Councillors are making up their minds right now, so please reach out to them and share your concerns.

If you don’t live in North Van, you can find out where your local government stands here. If yours isn’t on the list, why not ask them to hold a similar public meeting to help them – and community members – make up their minds about Kinder Morgan?

Save the Salish Sea!

I am very excited to announce the launch of Save the Salish Sea, our new campaign in collaboration with the Wilderness Committee to protect our unique corner of the ocean from the threat of fossil fuel expansion.

The Salish Sea is one of the world’s most spectacularly beautiful and ecologically rich bodies of water, stretching from the north end of the Strait of Georgia to Puget Sound in Washington State. Here, hundreds of rivers meet the sea, creating a unique coastal environment that supports a huge variety of marine life, including wild salmon and endangered killer whales. Tourists, businesses and residents alike are drawn by the region’s mild climate, unique geography, fantastic quality of life and the stunning natural beauty of the Salish Sea.

Map courtesy of Wilderness Committee

All of this is at risk. Right now, plans to triple the capacity of Kinder Morgan’s pipeline running from the Alberta tar sands to the BC coast, and to dramatically increase coal shipments from our ports, risk turning the Salish Sea into a superhighway for fossil fuel exports.

If these projects are approved, BC will be responsible for millions of tonnes of extra carbon emissions and go from being a green leader to a global climate change export hub. And the magnificent Salish Sea will be under the constant threat of a catastrophic oil spill that would devastate the marine environment, coastal communities and BC’s entire economy for decades to come.

Save the Salish Sea is a new rallying point for concerned citizens: a place to find out more about fossil fuel development in the region, come together, and take action to protect the Salish Sea. So please take a moment to explore our new website, and if you have a bit more time, write an email to Premier Christy Clark asking her to stand up to the federal government and take back our power to say ‘no’ to projects like Kinder Morgan that aren’t in the best interests of British Columbians.

For us here at GSA, Save the Salish Sea is a natural extension of our efforts to protect the Georgia Strait from the threat of increased tanker traffic. We want to highlight the combined impacts of fossil fuel exports in the region, both to our local waters and our global climate, and contribute to the national conversation about how we make the transition to a clean energy future. By banding together with allies from all corners of the Salish Sea, we are building on our strong history of working across the Canada-US border to protect our shared waters, and ramping up the pressure on decision-makers in both countries.

We love feedback, so please get in touch with any thoughts, questions or ideas about the campaign. Now that we’re off and running, we’ll be holding a series of town hall meetings and other events across the Salish Sea this summer and fall, so stay tuned to our events calendar to find one near you - I hope to see you there!

Talking transition with tanker owners

As a campaigner who spends most of my time speaking out about the risks of shipping tar sands oil through the Georgia Strait, I found myself in a somewhat unusual position last week: standing in front of a roomful of tanker owners and port managers, talking about a future beyond oil.

Photo: Green Marine / Port Metro Vancouver

Although it wasn't exactly an easy sell, the crowd was more receptive than you might think. I was presenting at the annual conference of Green Marine, an industry-led program under which ports, terminals and shipowners attempt to measure and reduce the environmental impact of their operations in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, waste management and oil spill prevention.

In media debates about increasing tanker traffic off BC’s coast, the shipping industry often takes the position that they are unfairly targeted. The sentiment is: ‘we don’t extract the oil or make the laws that govern it – we just carry it’. In my presentation, I suggested that this position wasn't going to fly anymore in BC – not when what the ships are carrying is oil, which is culturally and politically, and not just environmentally, toxic. The shipping industry is now under the microscope every day, not just when there is an incident or a spill. At least at the moment in BC, the shipping industry’s reputation is bound up with the reputation of the oil industry’s; and that reputation is not being helped by failing to acknowledge that ship owners and ports are more than innocent bystanders in the life cycle of oil.

So while we need to acknowledge that tanker safety and oil spill prevention have come a long way since the days of the Exxon Valdez, and that many members of Green Marine are working hard to reduce the direct impacts of their operations, true environmental leadership means taking into account the impacts of the products you carry. There is no doubt that the task of measuring and assessing these impacts is technically complex, and that mitigating them raises big questions about the future of the shipping industry in a carbon constrained world. They are certainly questions that are beyond the scope of a program like Green Marine in its current format – but the climate challenge demands that they be asked.

It also demands that we work together across traditional divides, which is why Georgia Strait Alliance has decided to become a supporter of Green Marine. Although we will encourage the program to raise the bar in how it defines sustainability and environmental leadership, we also need to acknowledge that many of its members are making genuine efforts to reduce their environmental footprint, and working with them to push the envelope is more effective than washing our hands of an initiative just because it doesn't yet go far enough. There are always tensions when strange bedfellows come together – but these can be productive, and building unusual alliances to find solutions is what Georgia Strait Alliance is all about.

Dear Kinder Morgan: our province is not for sale

At Kinder Morgan’s annual shareholder meeting in Texas this week, oil executives gathered in the heart of the American oil patch to celebrate another year of profits and investor payouts.

It’s a timely reminder of whose interests are really served by Kinder Morgan’s plan to triple the capacity of the Transmountain pipeline. Here’s a hint: it’s not you and me.

So who benefits if the Kinder Morgan pipeline goes ahead? Certainly not BC, which bears all the risk of a new pipeline and increased tanker traffic, and faces a devastating oil spill that could ruin our coast, our communities and our economy for decades to come.  In the long run, not Canada either, as we commit ourselves ever further to a boom and bust resource cycle, and our over reliance on bitumen undermines a diversified, resilient economy.  And not the rest of the world, as we pump billions of extra tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and take another giant step towards the cliff of catastrophic climate change.  The real winner is Kinder Morgan, and people like CEO Richard Kinder – a former Enron executive and one of the richest men in the world.

But BC has a history of standing up against those who would sell off our heritage to the highest bidder. Pipelines and tanker traffic are proving to be a defining issue of the BC election, and opposition to Kinder Morgan’s expansion plan is at an all-time high.

So, Kinder Morgan, British Columbians have a message for you: our province is not for sale.

Leaders are stepping up to oppose Kinder Morgan's expansion plans

It’s easy to be a cynic when it comes to elections, rolling our eyes at focus-grouped speeches and partisan mudslinging in the run up to voting day. This election, pipelines and tanker traffic are a hot topic, and the list of leaders taking a stand against the Kinder Morgan pipeline project is growing. Last week, we heard stirring words from the Mayors of Vancouver and Burnaby and hard facts from economists and business leaders saying ‘no’ to Kinder Morgan at the West Coast Pipeline Summit. This week, we have seen a growing number of BC political parties declaring their opposition to Kinder Morgan’s expansion plans, surprising many an election cynic and boosting the prospects for the campaign to stop the pipeline.

Image credit: Tsleil-Waututh West Coast Oil Pipeline Summit

Georgia Strait Alliance has been asking our supporters to reach out to candidates of all parties in their riding to find out where they stand on Kinder Morgan, and what they would do about pipelines and tanker traffic if they got elected. We feel that the risk of a catastrophic oil spill that would devastate the beaches, communities and precious marine life of the Salish Sea is simply too great, and safeguarding our coast and our climate demands that we oppose the project. Together with many other organizations, we have been working to encourage BC to say ‘no’ to Kinder Morgan and ‘yes’ to a clean energy future. So indications that leaders are listening to the majority of British Columbians who oppose the Kinder Morgan project are welcome – and help to reign in that election cynicism.

If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to contact your candidates: the more they hear concerns about the Kinder Morgan pipeline, the stronger a mandate the next government will have to take bold action to protect the Salish Sea.

As every cynic knows, talk doesn’t always equal action, so it will be up to us to hold our MLAs to their election promises, and push for the kind of visionary policies that would protect our whole coast forever and make BC a true climate leader.

GSA has lots of exciting activities planned this summer to bring people together to celebrate the Salish Sea and turn up the volume on the Kinder Morgan campaign – stay tuned to this blog for more details!

Climbing aboard, speaking out

Hello, I’m Alexandra and I have recently joined Georgia Strait Alliance in the new role of Energy and Shipping Campaigner. In the coming months I’ll be using this blog to keep you up to date with our work to stop the expansion of crude oil tanker traffic in the Salish Sea. But to start, I thought I’d tell you a little about myself and why I’m so thrilled to be working with GSA on this campaign.

I grew up in Vancouver and spent my childhood summers exploring the beaches and forests of the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.  My roots in this spectacular place helped to foster my love of the natural world, and my commitment to speaking out against the forces that threaten earth’s life support systems.

After studying Geography at UVic, I moved to the UK to do a Master’s in environmental communication, and then a PhD exploring what motivates people to take action on climate change. At the same time, I was heavily involved in campaigning against major climate-polluting infrastructure expansion projects, including a new runway at Heathrow Airport and a new generation of coal fired power plants – both of which we eventually stopped. More recently, I led a transit user campaign to overturn the government’s plans to drastically increase public transit fares.

All along, I watched as more and more information came to light about the risks of Canada’s tar sands – to the lands and waters of Alberta, to our global climate, and to BC’s coast in the form of a juggernaut of new pipelines, terminals and tanker traffic. I also watched as a powerful wave of opposition grew, and BC residents came together to say a resounding ‘NO’ to the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. That experience has provided us with important lessons, new alliances, and most importantly huge momentum that we can apply to stopping Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline proposal, and preventing the devastation it could bring to the Strait.

I feel very lucky to be working back in BC at this exciting time, at a set of decision points where instead of locking ourselves into more climate pollution and more oil spills, we can chart a new course towards a sustainable energy future for BC. 

I am also privileged to be joining a team of such passionate and committed staff, volunteers and members, and I look forward to meeting and working with many of you, both online and in the real world. In the meantime, keep an eye on this blog or drop me an email (alexandra AT georgiastrait.org) with any questions, if there is any way I can help you in your work, or just to say hi!