The National Energy Board has ruled Kinder Morgan must release its emergency management program for the Trans Mountain pipeline, even though the company wanted to keep it secret for proprietary reasons.
There are provisions in the NEB Act that allow certain information to be kept confidential if disclosure would compromise security or damage the company’s bottom line.
In this case, however, the board ruled public interest outweighed Kinder Morgan’s request to keep the plan confidential.
Chris Bowcock, Burnaby’s deputy fire chief, was pleased with the ruling.
“It’s good news. The question for me was why they wanted to retain them in the first place. They cited the need for proprietary right, which doesn’t make any sense to me,” he said. “All of the other (hydrocarbon) facilities in the area have openly shared their emergency response plans not only with us but also the community.”
Bowcock, who has experience managing fire hazards in the oil industry, said Kinder Morgan released an emergency response plan several months ago, but it was partially redacted.
“We at the fire department have been struggling with the unwillingness for them to share a description of facilities,” he said. “As of yet, they haven’t provided the redacted portions so we have a comprehensive version.”
The NEB’s ruling applies to the emergency management program for the current pipeline system, but if the Trans Mountain expansion is approved, Kinder Morgan will also have to consult with “affected parties,” update the plan and release the new version. The board instructed Kinder Morgan to keep any redactions narrow and to provide justifications for them.
The cities of Burnaby and Vancouver, the provincial government, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the Upper Nicola Band, and the Tsawout First Nation all wanted to see the emergency management program.
Kinder Morgan is reviewing the emergency plan, and the NEB gave the company an October 17 deadline to release the information to intervenors in the pipeline expansion hearing.
