I would like to commend FVRD director Wendy Bales for her courage to stand apart from her colleagues and oppose the proposed expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline. The existing pipeline has been a concern of mine for some time.
Last year through correspondence with David Blain, Director of Engineering for the City of Chilliwack, I learned that the aquifer flows from the Vedder River northward. It would seem to me that the many large farms located north of the Kinder Morgan line should therefore be concerned for their well water. I wonder if the city has emergency plans to supply water for these large operations in the event of a catastrophic tar sands oil spill as happened in Mayflower Arkansas on March 29 of this year. If I were one of these farmers I would be inquiring what, if any, plans are in place.
According to David Blain, the aquifer also feeds into Luckakuck Creek, that beautiful stretch along Vedder Road with lovely houses and a bird sanctuary at the north end. Could home owners awake one day to find black sludge flowing through the creek, their lawns covered with oil-soaked dying geese and ducks, a cloud of toxic gas burning their throats? Motorists along Vedder road avoiding sickened adults with blackened chicks on the roadway?
Remember Kalamazoo Michigan.
It’s time for our representatives to step up and safeguard our beautiful city, but they will only do so if we demand it.
Sandra Forbes
Chilliwack