Completed in 2008, Trans Mountain’s award-winning Anchor Loop project involved installing a second pipeline adjacent to the existing Trans Mountain pipeline — a 158-kilometre section of the existing Trans Mountain system between Hinton, Alberta and Hargreaves, BC, just west of Mount Robson Provincial Park. This included looping a portion of the pipeline system crossing Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park, both designated part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains Parks, a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. The project also involved installing two new pump stations, the Wolf Pump Station near Niton Junction, Alberta, and the Chappel Pump Station near Pyramid, BC.
Anchor Loop project planning and permitting began in 2004 and included a robust engagement program that consulted with local stakeholders, environmental groups, Aboriginal Peoples and other interested parties and, given the sensitive environmental considerations, a rigorous environmental assessment (EA) process that met or exceeded the stringent environmental standards demanded of the project.
Project construction was completed in 2008, increasing the capacity of the pipeline system from 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 300,000. Once the new pipeline was activated, attention turned to continuing the pipeline’s right-of-way (ROW) restoration program. In 2009, several major restoration activities helped ensure a positive project legacy in both Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park.
Some of the legacy benefits of the Anchor Loop project include:
- Detailed mapping of the parks
- Over 30 environmental and socio-economic technical reports including extensive wildlife species studies that enhanced the knowledge base for the Parks, including new information about bird migrations
- Greenhouses to grow indigenous plants for the areas that were subsequently donated to the Hinton Community Garden
- Rebuilt roads and bridges
In 2010, Kinder Morgan Canada received a prestigious Emerald Award from the Alberta Emerald Foundation. Each year, Emerald Awards “recognize and reward the excellent environmental initiatives undertaken each year by large and small corporations, individuals, not-for-profit associations, community groups and governments."