Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Shutting down pipeline through Westsyde raises environmental issues

Dec 19, 2019 | 5:25 AM

KAMLOOPS — A REVIEW OF HISTORY is in order on a proposal to shut down the Trans Mountain pipeline through Westsyde.

Coun. Denis Walsh submitted a Hail Mary notice of motion to Tuesday’s City council meeting asking the Canada Energy Regulator to force the pipeline out of Westsyde and on to the Lac du Bois grasslands.

His rationale is that the existing pipeline presents a risk to the heavily populated Westsyde area. His answer is simple — dig a wider ditch on the already approved expansion route across the grasslands.

Since the pipeline was built in 1953, Westsyde has grown up around it. So, Walsh and his fellow councillors voted in 2014 to support Trans Mountain’s proposal to put the new pipe in Lac du Bois rather than tear up Westsyde.

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But it’s also true that the Kamloops Naturalists Club, Sierra Club of B.C., Grasslands Conservation Council of B.C. and other groups strongly opposed putting the new pipe through Lac du Bois. They pointed out the problem of invasive weeds and the difficulty of restoring the fragile grasslands to their original state after construction.

Putting in one pipe beside another isn’t as simple as it sounds. All along the route of the existing pipeline, the right of way is being widened not only to provide room for the new pipe but to provide work space for equipment. What began as a 10-metre-wide right of way can become 50 metres or more.

So, reducing future risk in Westsyde, where the pipeline has functioned well for 66 years, by moving the entire pipeline onto Lac du Bois poses some serious environmental concerns.

Though well-intended, I suspect Walsh’s motion will be shot down when it comes up for debate, and that might be one of the reasons.
I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.