The City of Burnaby, B.C., is planning a “full-scale emergency exercise” on Burnaby Mountain aimed at testing and assessing its response capabilities in the case of a major incident at the Trans Mountain facilities.
The city says the risk of a catastrophic event is low but it wants to strike a balance that acknowledges an incident could occur.
“Our primary focus at the City of Burnaby is keeping our community safe and this mock exercise will help us prepare and respond more effectively,” Mayor Mike Hurley said.
While the city had previously opposed the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline and its terminus in Burnaby, Hurley acknowledged the project is both complete and operational.
“With increased oil transport, comes increased risk,” he said. “We want to fully understand the risks, increase our capacity to respond and ensure we have the right partners at the table to support a safe, reliable and timely emergency response.”
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As a part of the work, the city commissioned a third-party risk assessment and computer simulation based on a hypothetical earthquake and fire at the Burnaby Mountain Tank Farm and the Westridge Marine Terminal.
The city said the simulation was crafted with information that was publicly available in 2021, and admitted the hypothetical scenario does not reflect the current finished expanded system.
Trans Mountain said its risk assessments underpinning the design, operation and emergency response plans for the pipeline expansion were approved by the Canada Energy Regulator, and informed by feedback from third-party experts, the city and the community.
The company added that it has a “shared and mutual interest” with the city in preventing incidents.
“The materials released do not account for the controls, measures and plans we have in place to mitigate and prevent incidents,” Trans Mountain president and chief operating officer Michael Davies said in a statement.
“In preparation for a joint exercise with the City of Burnaby, we recently toured Mayor Hurley, city officials and local groups around our facilities to show them the enhancements made as a result of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.”
Hurley said he understands the simulation and animation could add to public anxiety, but that being prepared for an incident was more important.
Burnaby says the emergency response exercise will happen in the next two to three years, and will include all levels of government, First Nations and Trans Mountain.
The city added it has already taken steps to be ready for the potential of a disaster, building two new fire stations: one at the base of Burnaby Mountain and one on top near Simon Fraser University.
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