A “Talk the Walk” tour of the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Chilliwack starts Wednesday on the playground of Watson Elementary school.
Organizer Wendy Major says it’s going to be an “easy-paced” hour-long walk to raise public awareness of the pipeline in Chilliwack.
“Some people don’t know exactly where it is,” she said. “Some people are surprised it’s so close to a school.”
The pipeline, which Kinder Morgan wants to double in capacity, also passes over the Sardis/Vedder aquifer, the primary source of Chilliwack’s drinking water.
It’s also not widely known that the pipeline, which has been operating since 1953, now carries “tar sands” or diluted bitumen, in addition to conventional crude oil.
Opponents argue that diluted bitumen is corrosive and presents more of a risk of pipeline failure and greater chance of a spill, a charge the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association rejects.
Major and other members of the PIPE UP Network will be distributing information leaflets during the tour, and to homes in the area.
PIPE UP has also organized a “town hall” meeting for Aug. 22 starting at 7 p.m. at the Tzeachten Community Hall
The Wednesday tour of the pipeline starts at 1 p.m.
