VANCOUVER - Kinder Morgan can go ahead with necessary studies of its preferred pipeline route through Burnaby Mountain without the consent of the city of Burnaby.
In a decision released Tuesday, the National Energy Board says under federal legislation the company doesn't need permission to access the city-owned park that is home to Simon Fraser University and a vast nature preserve.
The board says it would not be logical or in the public's interest to make a decision on the proposed expansion of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline without the studies.
The company says it has tried for more than a year to come to some agreement with the Metro Vancouver city, to no avail.
The dispute has already caused a seven-month delay in National Energy Board hearings but project leader Carey Johannesson says initial studies can begin within days.
The $5.4-billion expansion project would almost triple the current capacity, from 300,000 barrels of oil a day to almost 900,000.
