CITY of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto has joined regional politicians and environmental groups to call on the National Energy Board to open up its approval process to public scrutiny this week.

The call for action comes after the federal oil regulator approved a change for Trans Mountain Pipeline to allow the company to enter into long-term service agreements with oil companies shipping oil from Alberta to the Westridge terminal in Burrard Inlet. Critics say the change opens the door to more oil tankers plying Burrard Inlet, but despite requests for a public hearing there was no such event held in British Columbia.

The only meeting held on the application was in Calgary and involved mostly oil companies.

Mussatto was one of eight local politicians to sign a letter calling on the National Energy Board to host public meetings in B.C. on any future approvals to the Kinder Morgan exporting facility in Burnaby, which has seen oil exports via tankers jump dramatically in the last five years, from around 20,000 barrels per year in 2005 to a high of more than 80,000 barrels in 2010, before dropping off again this year.

"The concern is we're hearing from people is there's a risk of a potential oil spill in Burrard Inlet with the increase in tanker traffic," said Mussatto. At the same time, he said, he's heard from industry groups that current practices are extremely safe. The problem, he says, is there's no consultation.

Mussatto's signature joined that of the mayor of Burnaby, where the pipeline terminates at Burrard Inlet, the mayors of Delta, Victoria, Whistler, Sechelt and the chair of the Islands Trust Council, a federation of local governments on the Gulf Islands.

Chief Justin George of the Tsleil-Waututh said his nation is already affected by the pipeline and oil facilities.

"Just in the last week there's been issues of oil spots and patches along the foreshore," said George, pointing to previous leaks and spills. He's concerned about future expansion, and said the federal government has a duty to consult all those affected by any application. "There's been zero consultation with our nation and there's been zero consultation with any of the cities in the area," he said, noting a larger spill could impact the nation's eco-tourism business.

The Wilderness Committee was one of a group of several environmental groups that requested the National Energy Board hold public hearings in Vancouver about the proposed changes. Ben West, spokesman for the Wilderness Committee, said the process isn't transparent. "Quite frankly I don't think you should have to ask (for a meeting)," he said.

West said he is concerned about both the potential impact of an oil spill and a growing contribution of Canada towards climate change. The oil being loaded onto tankers is from the oil sands in northeast Alberta, which has higher carbon dioxide emissions than conventional sources of oil.

"The way I see it, this is opening the door to more than 10 extra tankers moving through the Burrard Inlet annually."

National Energy Board spokeswoman Carole Léger-Kubeczek said there was not enough interest to warrant a public hearing in the Lower Mainland, despite the coalition of groups that requested one.

"It depends on the number of requests we get. That will determine where we hold the hearing, and it could be in more than one location," she said, but couldn't elaborate on exactly how much interest is needed. Any future applications, she said, would follow the same process.

The approval allows Kinder Morgan, owners of the decadesold Trans Mountain pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby, to enter into long-term contracts with oil companies. It also officially reallocates a portion of the pipeline capacity to the sea terminal, raising the volume to 79,000 barrels per day from 50,000 previously, though the amount of oil actually shipped through the terminal could be higher or lower than that.

"In the past, all bids for dock space were on a month-to-month basis with no guarantee that a shipper would get volumes they requested each month," said Lexa Hobenshield, spokeswoman for Kinder Morgan. This will provide more certainty and responds to the market demand, she said.

Hobenshield said this decision will have no effect on the number of tankers, and is not tied to future expansion of the pipeline's capacity. While the amount of oil allocated to the Westridge facility has increased, the actual exports are not bound by that amount, she said, and the facility had already exported a similar amount of oil in 2010.

In the long-term, Kinder Morgan plans to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries crude oil from the oil sands, to 700,000 barrels per day from 300,000, as well as build a new ship berth at Westridge to increase capacity.