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Kinder Morgan Pipeline Spills up to 42,000 Gallons of Gasoline Into California Drainage Canal

A pipeline leaked tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline into a waterway in Walnut Creek, California. California Office of Spill Prevention and Response / Facebook

A Kinder Morgan pipeline leaked tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline into a waterway in Walnut Creek, California, prompting concerns from residents worried about the company’s safety record.

Locals are mistrustful of the company after a 2004 explosion on the same line killed five construction workers and injured four others, the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out. In this case, area residents say they saw Kinder Morgan respond to the spill before they were informed of what was happening.

“They scared quite a few people on this street and no one was saying anything,” Matt Dooling told the San Francisco Chronicle. “This happened right where the 2004 explosion happened, so when they say that it’s not dangerous, we don’t really believe them.”

The story began Nov. 20 when company officials first noticed a pressure drop on part of the pipeline that runs between Concord and San Jose, The Mercury News reported. They shut down portions of the pipeline at the time, but then a worker reported the smell and appearance of gas in a drainage canal Dec. 2.

“We immediately shut down the pipeline and isolated the area,” Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Melissa Ruiz told The Mercury News.

Dooling told the San Francisco Chronicle that he observed Kinder Morgan workers examining the canal Dec. 2 while walking with his daughter, but that he and other neighbors were not given an explanation until days later.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Neoliberalism, Pipelines, and Canadian Political Economy

June 22, 2018

Neoliberalism, Pipelines, and Canadian Political Economy

Photo by Luke Jones | CC BY 2.0

The national debate about how to get diluted bitumen to trans-oceanic markets by means of a twinning of the existing Kinder Morgan pipeline route between Alberta and British Columbia – known as the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project – illustrates the sad state of economic planning, diversification and vision in Canada.

The current policy of dependence on the sale of carbon-based energy resources, coupled with reliance on residential real estate construction and sale, is a short-sighted environmental and industrial strategy for a nation such as Canada. The country’s forecast continued dependence on the extraction of oil and gas, the burning of which our planet can no longer sustain, along with our primary devotion to the FIRE (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate) model of wealth creation does not serve the well-being of all Canadians nor preserve our natural environment. Instead, we should be considering alternative economic approaches that affirm Canadian economic sovereignty through the creation of jobs and socially re-invested dividends linked to a sustainable future.

It is time we organize our economy along different lines, putting people, communities and the environment ahead of pipeline revenues, quarterly profits, and energy stock prices. That this may pose challenges is not a matter of dispute. Nevertheless, our reluctance to revise or discard established ways of doing things has been an impediment to change in the past. This was noted fifty years ago by the distinguished Canadian economic historian Harold Innis, who, in discussing our political culture, noted our “infinite capacity for self-congratulation.” This complacency is perhaps not surprising when one considers our rich abundance of resources, land, and water; our good fortune to be situated next to the world’s economic behemoth which possessed an apparently insatiable appetite for our raw materials and commodities; and, finally, our small population occupying an immense landmass according each individual an almost blessed sense of space, ease and, for a time, opportunity.

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Canada Bets On Trans Mountain Expansion To Sell Oil In Asia

June 11, 2018

Canada Bets On Trans Mountain Expansion To Sell Oil In Asia

Canada may be the fourth largest producer and third largest exporter of oil in the world, but it has one sole customer of its oil—the United States.

At the end of last month, Canada took a step toward ensuring that its oil would have an export outlet to the world’s fastest-growing energy market, Asia.

Analysts believe that the federal government stepping in to save the Trans Mountain expansion project has boosted the chances that the pipeline will be built and give Canada an export outlet from the Pacific Coast to the Asian markets. The industry is cautiously optimistic, but some companies say that Canada must do more to level the playing field for its oil.

Last year, Canada’s crude oil exports increased by 6.5 percent annually to 3.3 million bpd. Of those, exports to destinations other than the U.S. accounted for just 0.8 percent of all, according to data by the National Energy Board (NEB).

Due to congested takeaway capacity and lack of enough pipelines to either the Pacific or the Atlantic Coasts, Canada’s oil is currently priced at a huge discount to the U.S. benchmark. The discount at which Western Canadian Select (WCS)—the benchmark price of oil from Canada’s oil sands delivered at Hardisty, Alberta—trades relative to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has been US$20, and at times US$30 a barrel this year.

Fierce opposition in British Columbia has forced Kinder Morgan to reconsider its commitment to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline that would increase the daily capacity of the pipeline to 890,000 bpd from 300,000 bpd. So the Government of Canada reached an agreement with Kinder Morgan last month to buy the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and related pipeline and terminal assets for US$3.5 billion (C$4.5 billion).

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Disaster Hits Canada’s Oil Sands

April 10, 2018

Disaster Hits Canada’s Oil Sands

Kinder Morgan said it would halt nearly all work on a pipeline project that is crucial to the entire Canadian oil sands industry, representing a huge blow to Alberta’s efforts to move oil to market.

Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion is the largest, and one of the very few, pipeline projects that has a chance of reaching completion. Alberta’s oil sands producers have been desperate for new outlets to take their oil out of the country, and the decade-plus Keystone XL saga is the perfect illustration of the industry’s woes.

Keystone XL is still facing an uncertain future, and with several other major oil pipeline projects already shelved, there has been extra emphasis on the successful outcome of the Trans Mountain Expansion. That is exactly why Canada’s federal government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has gone to bat for the project.

But, despite federal approval, Trans Mountain still faces a variety of obstacles that have bedeviled the project for some time. It appears that opposition from First Nations, environmental groups, local communities affected by the route, and the provincial government in British Columbia have forced Kinder Morgan to throw in the towel, at least for now.

Kinder Morgan said on Sunday that it suspended most work on the $5.8 billion Trans Mountain Expansion.

Environmental groups hailed the announcement. “The writing is on the wall, and even Kinder Morgan can read it. Investors should note that the opposition to this project is strong, deep and gets bigger by the day,” said Mike Hudema, climate campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, according to Reuters.

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Trudeau Approves Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline As Part of Canada’s ‘Climate Plan’

November 30, 2016

Trudeau Approves Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline As Part of Canada’s ‘Climate Plan’

Justin Trudeau announced the approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline Tuesday, saying the project is integral to meeting Canada’s climate commitments.

Tweet: Sorry, what? @JustinTrudeau says #KinderMorgan is integral to meeting Canada’s climate commitments http://bit.ly/2g3PQLx #bcpoli #cdnpoli “Today’s decision is an integral part of our plan to uphold the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions while creating jobs and protecting the environment,” Trudeau told reporters at a press conference.

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project will twin an existing pipeline running from Alberta to Burnaby, B.C. increasing transport capacity from 300,000 barrels of oil per day to 890,000 barrels per day. Trudeau also approved an application to increase capacity of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline from 390,000 to 915,000 barrels per day.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the two pipelines combined represent an increase of 23 to 28 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent released into the atmosphere.

Under the Paris Agreement Canada pledged to reduce emissions 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Canada’s current policies aren’t expected to meet those targets. According to a recent analysis by Climate Action Network, Canada is expected to miss those targets by 91 megatonnes.

Trans Mountain and Line 3 put Canada at a further disadvantage when it comes to meeting those targets.

“If built, these projects would facilitate huge growth in the tar sands,” Adam Scott, analyst with Oil Change International, said, “increasing total greenhouse gas pollution by as much as [27 megatonnes] of CO2 every year — equivalent to the pollution from 58 million cars on the road.”

Trudeau acknowledged the Trans Mountain approval was made in light of increased production in the oilsands.

“We know there will be an increase in the production in oilsands in coming years,” Trudeau said, adding Canada’s pipeline network is operating at capacity, meaning more pipelines are necessary.

But Scott says that position isn’t backed up by the facts.

“There is no need for any additional pipeline capacity,” Scott said, pointing to a recent analysis done by Oil Change International.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

NEB approves Trans Mountain pipeline with 157 conditions

May 19, 2016

NEB approves Trans Mountain pipeline with 157 conditions

Federal government has 7 months to make decision on controversial project

Coastal communities in B.C. have raised serious concerns about spill risk and the potential damage it could cause to the environment.

Coastal communities in B.C. have raised serious concerns about spill risk and the potential damage it could cause to the environment. (Kinder Morgan)

Is a Calgary-based journalist with CBC’s network business unit. You can contact him on Twitter at @kylebakx

The federal government now has seven months to make a decision on the controversial Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, after the national regulator gave its support to the proposed project.

The National Energy Board is recommending the multi-billion dollar pipeline be constructed if 157 conditions are met, including 49 environmental requirements. The NEB described the requirements as achievable for the company.

Kinder Morgan must meet the conditions in order for the company to construct and operate the pipeline.

A map of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline is seen in the foreground as Dr. Robert Steedman, chief environment officer of the National Energy Board, releases their report on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project in Calgary. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

The NEB concluded the Trans Mountain expansion will provide several economic advantages for Canada such as access to more export markets, thousands of construction jobs and increased government revenue.

At this point, the exact route of the pipeline is still not determined.

The federal government will take the NEB’s decision into account in addition to considerations about upstream greenhouse gases and views of First Nations and other communities along the route.

Alberta’s oilpatch welcomed the decision, although the excitement was measured.

“It’s beneficial in 2019 when there is actual oil flowing,” said Robert Cooper, with the institutional sales and trading team at Acumen Capital Partners in Calgary. “Right now the immediate concern in the energy business is keeping the business alive.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Kinder Morgan pipeline review by NEB loses 35 participants over ‘flawed’ process

August 13, 2015

Kinder Morgan pipeline review by NEB loses 35 participants over ‘flawed’ process

‘We can’t abide by the system any more. It’s too flawed,’ says former participant

Dozens of participants have dropped out of the controversial National Energy Board review of Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, saying they can no longer support a “biased” and “unfair” process.

Thirty-five commenters and interveners, including the Wilderness Committee and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, sent a letter to the board Wednesday announcing their immediate withdrawal.

“It’s a sad day. We do not like to fly in the face of regulatory processes,” said Wilderness Committee climate campaigner Eoin Madden in a phone interview. “But we can’t abide by the system any more. It’s too flawed.”

The news came as the energy board was to release its draft conditions for the pipeline expansion. Commenters have six days to respond to the conditions, which are legally required and do not mean the board has made a decision yet.

The latest departures are in addition to the earlier withdrawal of two other high-profile interveners. Economist Robyn Allan announced her exit from the “rigged” process in May, while former BC Hydro chief executive Marc Eliesen called it a “farce” when he pulled out last year.

NEB disappointed by withdrawal

Spokesperson Tara O’Donovan said the board was disappointed the participants had chosen to withdraw.

“As interveners and commenters in the process they had an opportunity to add their voice to the record, and work to influence the decision of the board,” she said in a statement.

The review includes about 400 interveners, who can provide evidence and testimony, and 1,300 commenters, who can submit letters. O’Donovan said the board will consider all submissions and it is committed to a thorough and fair environmental assessment.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Trans Mountain pipeline expansion ‘disastrous,’ says Mayor Gregor Robertson

May 28, 2015

Trans Mountain pipeline expansion ‘disastrous,’ says Mayor Gregor Robertson

‘My mind is clearly made up. I think this is a bad deal for Vancouver,’ he said after reading new report

Mayor Gregor Robertson says new evidence proves the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline presents a grave threat to the City of Vancouver’s health, economy and environment.

The city commissioned expert reports on the potential impacts of the $5.4-billion proposal and the findings were presented to council on Wednesday.

“Today we heard overwhelming evidence that the Kinder Morgan pipeline proposal and the oil tankers associated with it are incredibly disastrous for Vancouver,” said Robertson outside council chambers after the meeting.

“My mind is clearly made up. I think this is a bad deal for Vancouver.”

The mayor entered a motion to reaffirm the city’s opposition to the project, but council agreed to defer the vote for two weeks after Coun. Elizabeth Ball requested more time to review the findings.

NEB considering proposal

The National Energy Board is considering Kinder Morgan’s plan to triple its bitumen-carrying capacity to 890,000 barrels a day by laying almost 1,000 kilometres of new pipe near an existing line between Alberta and Burnaby, B.C.

The city submitted its expert evidence to the energy board on Wednesday, including critical reports on the project’s economic viability, risk assessment and potential spill impacts.

A Metro Vancouver-commissioned report on health and air quality concluded a spill could expose up to a million people to toxic benzene fumes and kill up to 100,000 birds.

The report said benzene, a component of diluted bitumen, can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, respiratory problems, coma and even death. People on the Stanley Park seawall next to the water could suffer irreversible health effects, it said.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

What Kinder Morgan is Keeping Secret About its Trans Mountain Spill Response Plans

February 13, 2015

What Kinder Morgan is Keeping Secret About its Trans Mountain Spill Response Plans

Kinder Morgan, the company currently seeking permission to nearly triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline to carry Albertan crude to the west coast, has engaged in a protracted fight with the province of British Columbia in an effort to keep its oil spill response plans a secret.

The company alleges its motivation has to do with ‘security concerns’ although a look back at the to and fro with the province of B.C. paints a story of either incompetence or pure, defenseless hubris.

Either way, what Kinder Morgan is refusing to produce for B.C. and other intervenors in the pipeline review process, the company willingly disclosed south of the border for portions of the pipeline that extend to Washington State.

A read through the detailed spill response plans Kinder Morgan has in place for the U.S. shows just how far the company went to prove they can handle a pipeline spill.

It also highlights how outlandish it is that Kinder Morgan has not released similarly-detailed plans to the province of B.C.

It is also troubling that Kinder Morgan expects the government of B.C. to consent to a massive pipeline expansion — the proposal calls for a twinning of the pipeline which would lead to a fivefold increase in tanker traffic — without adequate assurances the best available emergency plans are in place.

So, what did Kinder Morgan tell Washington State that it refuses to tell B.C.?

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Pipeline Protesters Aren’t Hypocrites for Driving Cars | Joseph McLean

December 8, 2014

Pipeline Protesters Aren’t Hypocrites for Driving Cars | Joseph McLean.

The rallies on B.C.’s Burnaby Mountain are over. The core work is done, the crowds have dispersed. More than 100 people were arrested up there in the mud and rain, before the injunction hit the wall. Scientists and activists, first nations leaders and fresh-faced hippies. Arrested for crossing a line in the forest, a line that turned out to be wrong anyway. In the middle of all this, in the midst of the singing and shouting and media tag teams, Kinder Morgan sunk their test holes into the rock. Burnaby Mountain was stable, they announced — with absolutely no sense of irony.

Opinions run hot around these conflicts, and more is ahead of us. There are many arguments for and against civil protest, but one of the most persistent is that these people are hypocrites. That if you drive a car, take a plane, use hairspray, or otherwise consume fossil fuels in any way, you have no right to stand up.

This comparison is troubling for a number of reasons. First of all, it seeks to reduce the legitimate and complex public concern for this project. Never mind questions ofland sovereignty, spill danger, local jurisprudence, or the loss of provincial independence. Don’t worry about National Energy Board changes that exclude public input and ignore climate science. So what if Bill C-45 exempts pipelines from the water protection act. All you need to know is that protesters really don’t like oil. And yet they drive trucks and wear polyester clothing, can you believe it!

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Kinder Morgan leaves Burnaby Mountain in win for pipeline protesters – Waging Nonviolence

December 5, 2014

Kinder Morgan leaves Burnaby Mountain in win for pipeline protesters – Waging Nonviolence.

On the morning of November 28, after weeks of sustained protest, energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan packed up the equipment it had planned to use in the construction of a new pipeline on Burnaby Mountain in British Columbia, and left without finishing the job.

Weeks earlier, the company had legally declared a “no protest zone” — valid through December 1 — to keep protesters away from the mountainside construction sites on the grounds that their presence would present a safety hazard and undue expenses. When that wasn’t enough, they filed an application with the British Columbia Supreme Court to extend the injunction for another two weeks. But the court rejectedtheir application, when it was revealed that Kinder Morgan had provided the wrong GPS coordinates for the injunction zone. As a result, charges were also lifted from the over 100 people arrested for civil contempt due to a lack of clarity around where they could and could not be on the mountain.

Most importantly, the ruling means that Kinder Morgan can no longer continue construction on the site, as it has no legal grounds to do so. According to Reuters, the project would have more than tripled the volume of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which transports an estimated 300,000 barrels of tar sands oil daily through Alberta and British Columbia.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Kinder Morgan Pipeline Protest Sees More People Arrested After Crossing Police Line

November 23, 2014

Kinder Morgan Pipeline Protest Sees More People Arrested After Crossing Police Line.

VANCOUVER – About a dozen more people have been arrested at a pipeline protest in a conservation area in Vancouver.

The protesters were taken away Saturday after crossing a police line on Burnaby Mountain, where crews have been conducting survey work for the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Arrests began at the site Thursday, four days after a court deadline passed for activists to leave the survey site.

Kinder Morgan, the company that’s proposing the expansion, says drilling has begun at one of two, 250-metre-deep holes and that work trucks, crews and their equipment will continue to move onto the mountain throughout the weekend.

If approved, the expanded pipeline could ship almost 900,000 barrels a day of crude from Alberta to the B.C. coast.

Opponents argue the increased quantity of oil being transported would increase the risk of a devastating spill.

Kinder Morgan Begins Survey Work On Burnaby Mountain As Protests Continue

November 22, 2014

Kinder Morgan Begins Survey Work On Burnaby Mountain As Protests Continue.

BURNABY, B.C. – First Nations vowed to stand in unity with protesters as police kept up arrests Friday in a Metro Vancouver conservation area where crews resumed survey work for the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Shortly after activists announced they would do whatever it takes to stymie the project, a group began marching up Burnaby Mountain in the pouring rain.

More arrests quickly followed.

Charlene Aleck, a Tsleil-Waututh councillor, told a gathering of protesters at the base of the mountain that members of her First Nations band would join the actions aimed at protecting their homeland and waters.

“For the Tsleil-Waututh nation, it is our sacred obligation,” she said to a cheering crowd. “In our shared opposition to Kinder Morgan, we are many people paddling one canoe. Our united opposition and the sum of our collective voices will ensure this pipeline is never built.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Canada regulator says Kinder Morgan wins battle with B.C. suburb | Canada | Reuters

October 24, 2014

Canada regulator says Kinder Morgan wins battle with B.C. suburb | Canada | Reuters.

CALGARY Alberta (Reuters) – Canada’s energy regulator ruled on Thursday that Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP must be allowed access to a park in a Vancouver suburb in order to complete technical work for the planned C$5.4 billion($4.81 billion) expansion of its Trans Mountain oil pipeline.

In its first order on record to a Canadian municipality, the National Energy Board said the City of Burnaby must allow the company to carry out surveys and studies at Burnaby Mountain, a conservation site.

Burnaby sought to block the company’s access to the site after city officials and crews hired by Kinder Morgan clashed last month over whether the company was allowed to cut down a handful of trees on the mountain to do survey work for the new route, work Kinder Morgan said the National Energy Board had approved.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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