Delta is supporting the City of Vancouver's request for a full public hearing on the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.
Council earlier this month endorsed a motion by Coun. Sylvia Bishop to send a letter to the National Energy Board supporting Vancouver's request for a hearing in which Vancouver and other local governments would be able to participate as interveners.
An intervener is a party that has an interest in a proposed project and would like to have the option of fully participating in a hearing. They can present evidence, question witnesses and give final arguments during the written and oral portions of the hearing.
Saying Delta has more shoreline than anyone, Bishop noted the pipeline expansion should be a concern for all Lower Mainland residents.
In a letter by the City of Vancouver to the energy board, a hearing was requested to get more information on a series of questions and concerns about the $4.1 billion project.
The letter noted that a comprehensive review of the costs should be undertaken as part of the application, and that Vancouver has an interest in ensuring every effort is taken to minimize the risk of a spill from the pipeline.
Vancouver and Burnaby are opposed to the project, as well as groups like the Council of Canadians that warn about the risks, including a spill in the Fraser River.
Coun. Bruce McDonald said he supports Vancouver's request, however, he also prefers to see a pipeline travel though populated areas so people can monitor what oil companies are doing, rather than having pipelines tucked away in remote areas where things won't be seen.
"Prove you can do it in an area where people are watching you all the time. If that's the way it has to be, so be it. I'd prefer to see that than have it hidden away where you can dump crude oil in a lake and nobody knows except the few people who live there," he said.
McDonald agreed there should be full and complete disclosure of the project.
Mayor Lois Jackson said the issue was discussed by Metro Vancouver's ports committee, where concerns were raised about what emergency plans are in place in the event of a pipeline or tanker spill.
Kinder Morgan operates the Trans Mountain pipeline, which has been running oil from Alberta for almost 60 years.
The company wants to twin the line, more than doubling capacity from 300,000 barrels a day to 750,000 to meet rising demand for crude oil in Asia.
The existing line runs from northern Alberta to B.C., running through the Lower Mainland, including neighbouring Surrey, crossing the Fraser River and eventually reaching the Westridge Marine Terminal at Burrard Inlet. There, tankers are filled with crude.
It's estimated about 300 tankers would fill up annually if the expansion is approved.
As far as potential implications for Delta, in an interview with the Optimist earlier this year, Richmond Coun. Harold Steves said he suspects the Fraser River could be used as an alternate route for the tankers and a Kinder Morgan terminal if there is too much opposition to the Burrard Inlet plan.
Steves said he suspects the findings of a study by Port Metro Vancouver into tanker traffic for a separate proposed jet fuel delivery project could also be applied to allowing tanker traffic for Kinder Morgan.
The study concluded aviation fuel can be safely transported in bulk tankers on the lower Fraser if proper risk mitigation measures are in place.
The pipeline expansion application has yet to go to the National Energy Board.
