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Langley oil pipeline checked out

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A dig underway along the Trans Mountain Pipeline in Walnut Grove is a routine maintenance operation, and not connected to a proposed expansion.

Crews have been digging up a chunk of the pipe near 88th Avenue and 212th Street, along a public walkway between stores and houses.

Kinder Morgan, which owns the pipeline that runs crude from northern Alberta to a refinery in Burnaby, periodically inspects its pipes from the inside.

Smart tools, which are long torpedo-like devices studded with sensors, shoot down the pipe looking for weaknesses.

If anything needs further investigation, crews will dig up sections of the pipeline and check their integrity from the outside.

Nearby residents received a notice last week that an integrity dig was to take place.

The pipeline has been in place for more than 50 years, but has proved controversial now that Kinder Morgan has applied to almost triple its capacity. The increase in size could also come with changes in the pipeline’s route through North Langley, which has angered property owners who could find it crossing or near their land.



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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