The National Energy Board (NEB) should make the final call on what conditions Kinder Morgan will need to meet in order to expand its Trans Mountain Pipeline, Liberal MP Jati Sidhu said after touring local farms that would be affected by the proposed project.
Last Tuesday, Sidhu visited several Matsqui and Mount Lehman growers affiliated by a group – the Collaborative Group of Land Owners Affected by Pipelines – representing dozens of local farmers whose land is crossed by the pipeline.
Sidhu said he would take what he learned and forward the information to Natural Resources Minister James Carr.
The NEB is expected to make its final recommendation this spring on the project. A recommendation for approval would include a variety of conditions Kinder Morgan would be required to meet. The cabinet of the federal government would make the final call on the project, with a decision expected in December.
Sidhu said he heard from farmers about privacy concerns and about issues that arise when they try to work on land near the pipeline right-of-way. He said he would bring those concerns to Carr, but noted that the NEB “should be the final call.”