Chilliwack council says "not right now" to Kinder Morgan MOU

Chilliwack council has voted to defer a decision to sign a memorandum of understanding with Kinder Morgan.  

The Texas based energy company is looking to twin its Trans Mountain Pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby, and has something called a “Community Benefits Program” where they are offering to invest in communities along the route by funding local Parks and Trails projects.  It’s a great public relations strategy to be sure, and would have meant $800,000 in funding for Chilliwack, which would be used to build a $1 million pedestrian bridge connecting the trails on either side of the Vedder River.  The problem here is that the National Energy Board has yet to make a decision on the project. Chilliwack has “commenter” status at the hearings, and while they have already spoken to Kinder Morgan and listed some concerns, they have yet to submit their final comments, leading some to perceive accepting a funding promise from them now as a conflict. The Water Wealth Project went so far as to use the word “bribery” when referring to the company’s offer, which Mayor Sharon Gaetz called “offensive”…she said the city would never accept a bribe.

City councilor Jason Lum was the first to speak.  “I understand the FVRD has a number of concerns…I’m not even sure if those have been answered to our satisfaction. So making a decision today kind of feels like we’re putting the cart before the horse.”  He made a motion to defer, because he says the process feels wrong, and the community still has a lot to say on the issue.  In the end, council voted with him, although other councilors in attendance (Stam and Popove were absent) seemed to be torn on their decision.

Gaetz says despite the city’s commenter status, the NEB has all the control here, and considering the funding would only come to them IF the project is approved, it would be a huge risk to not sign the MOU.  According to Chilliwack Operations Director Glen MacPherson, Kinder Morgan set a deadline of May 29th to sign the agreement.  But since the deadline for NEB comment closes September 1st, and the city is now waiting, they may very well lose out on that money. MacPherson said they will try and arrange a meeting with Kinder Morgan before the deadline, and there is always a chance that if the project moves ahead, the city will still see some funding, but it may not be to the tune of $800,000.

Of all the communities east of Hope to be offered the MOU, only 2 did not sign.  Chilliwack was the first to be offered the deal west of Hope, and it remains to be seen if this deferral is a sign of things to come.

Ian Stephen from the Waterwealth Project is praising council for making a principled decision.  Stephen says given that the city is a commenter in the hearings, deciding now puts council in a conflict and says Kinder Morgan shouldn’t have insisted on a deadline.

“Once the city had made their official submission in that process I would have been quite comfortable with this MOU question coming up the next day.”

Stephen says he’s in favor of the project that the program would support, saying he’d be thrilled to see a pedestrian bridge over the Vedder river.

Councilor Sam Waddington agrees. He believes that despite what the community thinks, he has faith in the NEB to make a sound decision based solely on the merits of the project itself, and turning down this money is hard to to.

“If we don’t get this bridge, and we don’t get these trails, I would feel a little short-changed, for sure.”