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Vancouver – A group of concerned BC citizens have retained legal counsel to explore options regarding the recently dismantled National Energy Board (NEB) consultation process for the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.
With the support from ForestEthics Advocacy, the co-plaintiffs include residents of Vancouver, the North Shore and the Fraser Valley who were denied intervenor status in the Kinder Morgan NEB hearings. They are also arguing that the review process lacks review of climate and environmental impacts.
Of the over 2000 applicants who sought a voice in the NEB hearings, over 40 per cent were either rejected altogether or were granted less access to the process. More than 400 people requested intervenor status and have been granted commenter status, while 468 people were denied altogether.
“I’m frustrated to not be able to be an intervenor on this project when clearly my family is directly affected,” said co-plaintiff John Vissers, whose property on Sumas Mountain in Abbotsford is near an existing Kinder Morgan crude oil storage facility that has oil spills in recent years. Despite his proximity to Kinder Morgan’s facilities, Vissers, who is active in the community as chair of the local Environmental Advisory Committee, was denied intervener status in the NEB hearings.
Bradley Shende, a local entrepreneur and CEO, called the limitations on the NEB process “shortsighted and misinformed,” noting that the technology sector, which now eclipses oil, gas and forestry, benefits from Vancouver’s reputation for environmental sustainability. “The NEB process has been gutted and is ill-equipped to review the more complex long term issues behind this pipeline,” he said.
Lynne Quarmby, a Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University, studied the NEB process and decided not to apply to be an intervenor. “I’m concerned that my freedom of expression has been violated by the restrictions on the issues that the NEB will hear in its review,” Quarmby explained.
For example, climate impacts of the pipeline will not be considered in the NEB process. “Scientific evidence indicates that there is no feasible scenario for Canada that includes both expansion of the tar sands and meeting our greenhouse gas emissions goals,” said Quarmby. “We can’t expand our fossil fuel infrastructure without consideration of the effects on climate change.”
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