City of Chilliwack has spent $178,000 on a Trans Mountain Pipeline process monitoring program since 2015.
Council voted Tuesday to approve an additional $50,000 per year to be spent over the next three years for more of the same type of monitoring.
“Given the enormity of a potential catastrophe, I think it’s a small price to pay to have staff continue to work on this file,” commented Coun. Jason Lum.
But he said he still has “unanswered” technical questions for both the regulator and the applicant, regarding routing, spill response and safety.
Coun. Lum wanted to know why so much time has been spent and possibly wasted backing one of the three re-routing alignments, the BC Hydro right-of-way, if it never was a possibility in the first place.
Chilliwack reps favoured the Hydro route all along because it is furthest from the aquifer and drinking water wells.
“I’d like to hear staff speak to this, if it was already understood that route was basically impossible, then why did we spend so much time and effort on it,” Lum asked staff through the mayor.
Deputy director of Engineering Rod Sanderson responded explaining staff were reviewing the latest Trans Mountain report of Feb. 2.
“We do propose to ask a few questions,” Sanderson added, about why Chilliwack went through a route realignment hearing if that option was never on the table. “We will review it, and try to press our point of view.”
Coun. Lum said he found it “interesting” that it has just come to light that the Hydro realignment was not going to work two years later, and that no answers have been forthcoming about how a diluted bitumen spill would play out in fresh water, and other technical questions.
Since many of the 157 federally imposed conditions on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion will impact Chilliwack, staff have been monitoring and commenting on the proposal. City costs to keep up-to-date, according to the staff report, were in three main areas: Comment Letter $26,000; Technical Working Group $45,000; and NEB Re-Route Hearing $107,000.
Council approved plans for the continued approval process monitoring program Tuesday.
@CHWKjourno
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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