A group of Tri-City environmentalists wants to ensure Kinder Morgan Canada's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project stays out of Colony Farm Regional Park and they're holding a rally next Sunday to raise awareness.
But Kinder Morgan says a new plan is in the works that could see the pipeline project bypass the park entirely.
Last March, the company was considering using fields west of the the Colony Farm recreation area to assemble the pipeline. Once assembled, it would be pulled underneath the Fraser River to Surrey.
But a new plan is being proposed that would bypass the park using the CP Rail corridor if a deal with the rail company can be reached.
Carey Johannenson, lead of lands and right of way for the pipeline expansion project, said talks have been ongoing with CP Rail since public consultation indicated people were concerned about the use of the public park for pipeline assembly.
"There's a side road there and a siding, and we're talking with them [CP Rail] to potentially use that instead," Johannenson told The Tri-City News yesterday.
DEAL NOT YET FINALIZED
The deal has yet to be finalized, although some survey work and discussion sessions have taken place. If approved, however, would mean the pipeline could be stretched out along the spur line and side road and assembled without encroaching on the park.
Still, there is a chance that during the process of placing the pipeline under the river that a crane may have to be used to assist or the pipeline might have to be suspended over a corner of the park land, although it wouldn't touch the ground.
"We may need to have a bit of access for the crane itself but the staging and making up the drill string will be done on CP property, according to what we are doing now," he said.
When asked why local environmentalists haven't been kept in the loop about the new plan, Lexa Hobbenshield, a spokesperson for Kinder Morgan Canada, said details still have to be worked but she said multiple workshops and open houses have been held in Coquitlam about the route and more will take place once the route has been better defined.
"There will be opportunities for group discussions in coming months. Right now, they are focused on specific areas," she said, noting that businesses along United Boulevard are currently being consulted because plans have the route traveling along the road in the industrial area.
NOT APPROPRIATE LAND USE - GOLDS
Elaine Golds, conservation director for the Burke Mountain Naturalists, which is co-hosting the rally next Sunday with the group Forest Ethics Advocacy, said a public park shouldn't be used for the use of a private corporation and she's concerned the work will compact the soil and disturb wildlife.
"We think it's simply not appropriate to do this kind of work in the park, we want to do this kind thing [hold the rally] to make people aware," Golds said.
The group is also concerned about the short deadline for publicly commenting on proposed pipeline crossings of four provincial parks: Finn Creek, North Thompson River, Bridal Veils Park and the Lac du Bois Protected Area. Comments are due Oct. 12 and the rally will be encouraging people to make their comments online at ow.ly/AUQZ2.
TAKE YOUR BIKE
The rally on Sept. 14 takes place from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the end of Colony Farm Road at Lougheed Highway in Coquitlam and people are encouraged to take transit, walk or bike because parking will be limited. To encourage cycling, a group ride will start at Gates Park in Port Coquitlam at 2 p.m. and proceed to the park.
