Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Project: Economic Benefit or Liability?
Sat, 2012/06/16 - 1:41pm | 
Kelly_Sekhon
Robyn Allan, former President and CEO of ICBC has written an insightful and informing paper “Proposed Pipelines and Tanker Spill Risk for BC”. (See www.robynallan.com).
Robyn Allan has written to Premier Christie Clark expressing concern that this province should not have signed away its right to conduct an independent environmental review of the Northern Gateway Project. Premier Clark and the Minister of the Environment have the power to reverse that decision by giving 30 days notice to the National Energy Board that BC will reclaim its right of environmental review.
There are two obvious threats that BC faces from tar sands oil:
- A pipeline leak (either Enbridge Northern Gateway to Kitimat or Kinder Morgan pipeline to Burnaby). Note that tar sands bitumen is mixed with solvents to prevent sludge formation within the pipeline;
- Contamination of BC’s marine environment either during loading of oil tankers to carry the bitumen or the tankers’ spilling oil after they get underway.
Oil leaks and spills are a fact of life! If you go to Enbridge’s website and read the data on their 2010 spills, you’ll find that, of the 803,000,000 barrels they transported in the US and Canada, 34,258 barrels (160 litres per barrel) spilled.
You can help BC and its future generations by writing Premier Christie Clark of the concerns you may share with Robyn Allan. One hand-written letter, however short, is worth several emails.
The premier’s address:
The Honourable Christy Clark
Premier of British Columbia
Box 9041, Station PROV GOVT
Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 9E1
Tags:
Additional information submitted by Ken Summers
Here are two things you are likely already aware of regarding Enbridge / Kinder Morgan and oil spill potential, but I am sending them along to be sure.
One is a letter that the Association of Professional Biology sent to the ministers of Fisheries and Oceans; Environment; and Natural Resources. (Click here to see the attachment). Although it deals with Bill C-38, it also contains information regarding Enbridge and Kinder Morgan.
The other is the following links regarding the inadequacy of our oil spill response preparedness:
A Technical Analysis of Marine Transportation Statements for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Tanker Casualty Risk Reduction and Spill Response Preparedness (2011) This report has been submitted on the National Energy Board’s public registry. Though a long-report (144 pages), it does provide easier reading and a focus on the issues than the many hundreds of pages of EIS submitted by Enbridge.
Major Marine Vessel Casualty Risk and Response Preparedness in British Columbia (2008). (Since 2008, the only substantive changes to the report are that Canada has subscribed to IMO’s Protocol 2003 Supplementary Fund and the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage to increase levels of - and availability to - persistent oil spill compensation, respectively. New projects planned in British Columbia are for the Prince Rupert terminal and were not referenced in the report. These projects include a LNG terminal and a bulk oil transfer facility for railway export of unconventional oil from Alberta (diluted bitumen [dilbit], and syncrude). Canadian National Railway is planning to transport such oil by unit trains. New protocols for tanker escort by tugs have been established for ladened tankers leaving Metro Port Vancouver that replace the 1995 tug escort guidelines.)
Preliminary Analysis and Observations regarding Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Proposal Documents – Oil Spill Contingency Planning (This report prepared for the Haisla Nation Council, Kitimat, has annotations by the author of the previous two documents.)
Below, is a copy of an e-mail I have compiled to sent to people who are concerned about the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project (it was compiled before Kinder Morgan came up, but is relevant because the Enbridge proposal is currently undergoing a public review). I think Nature BC may have made an oral or written submission. Two naturalist's groups I know of have sent their own Letters of Comment, including the Abbotsford-Mission Nature Club (included in the sample letters below), and the North Okanagan Naturalists Club.
Feel free to copy any or all of the information below if it may be useful.
A quick review of the marine shipping-related portions of the proposal can be found here.This article also provides links to the source documents discussed.
For those who are really ambitions, all of the related documents and studies submitted to the Project Joint Review Panel can be found here.
Individuals or groups wanting to make a written submission concerning the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project to the Joint Review Panel and Northern Gateway and its counsel (both required for it to be considered), can do so via this web site. The deadline is Aug 31, 2012, but it is best to make comment before Bill C-38 is passed (expected to be mid June) in case the opportunity is cut short by the government's intention to limit the public review process to two years and make it retroactive.
In the marine birds contribution, below, the reference to "radical or foreigner" is a response to statements made by the prime minister and minister of Natural Resources, who use a government web site to criticize citizens and others who disagree with them.
Sample Letters of Comment to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=805686&objAction=browse (Geotechnical)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=809891&objAction=browse (Pacific salmon)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=809722&objAction=browse (Marine birds)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=813509&objAction=browse (Friends of Clayoquot Sound)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=813508&objAction=browse (Abbotsford-Mission Nature Club)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=811764&objAction=browse (Pacific Coast Fishermen's Mutual Marine Insurance Co)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=814336&objAction=browse (David Anderson, former federal Environment Minister)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=812985&objAction=browse (BC NDP--comprehensive list of issues)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=811559&objAction=browse (Planning Students Association of UBC)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=809632&objAction=browse (94-yr-old citizen, Zoology UBC)
https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&objId=809858&objAction=browse (Secondary effects on marine life of BP spill in Gulf of Mexico)
More: https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe/fetch/2000/90464/90552/384192/620327/customview.html?func=ll&objId=620327&objAction=browse&sort=-name
Other Info Sources
Union of British Columbia Municipalities:
http://www.ubcm.ca/resolutions/default.aspx (under "Resolution Text" type 'Enbridge' then click on "Submit Search.")
More Geotechnical:
http://friendsofmoricebulkley.ca/index.php/blog/new_information_from_expert_reports_jan_2012
http://www.bvcentre.ca/ then click on Hillside and Fluvial Processes Along the Propose Pipeline Corridor
Impacts of Oil on Plankton (very technical, but has summary):
Potential Impacts of Oil on Plankton and the Planktonic Larvae of Commercial Fisheries Species
Oil Spill Response Preparedness:
A Technical Analysis of Marine Transportation Statements for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Tanker Casualty Risk Reduction and Spill Response Preparedness (2011) This report has been submitted on the National Energy Board’s public registry. Though a long-report (144 pages), it does provide easier reading and a focus on the issues than the many hundreds of pages of EIS submitted by Enbridge.
Major Marine Vessel Casualty Risk and Response Preparedness in British Columbia (2008). (Since 2008, the only substantive changes to the report are that Canada has subscribed to IMO’s Protocol 2003 Supplementary Fund and the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage to increase levels of - and availability to - persistent oil spill compensation, respectively. New projects planned in British Columbia are for the Prince Rupert terminal and were not referenced in the report. These projects include a LNG terminal and a bulk oil transfer facility for railway export of unconventional oil from Alberta (diluted bitumen [dilbit], and syncrude). Canadian National Railway is planning to transport such oil by unit trains. New protocols for tanker escort by tugs have been established for ladened tankers leaving Metro Port Vancouver that replace the 1995 tug escort guidelines.)
Preliminary Analysis and Observations regarding Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Proposal Documents – Oil Spill Contingency Planning (This report prepared for the Haisla Nation Council, Kitimat, has annotations by the author of the previous two documents.)
Besides submitting comments to the Joint Review Panel and Northern Gateway and its counsel (above), people may want to write a letter to the PM, a cabinet minister, and/or their MP. You can find contact information for MPs here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=current. The following site may be useful for information on how to address members of parliament and other dignitaries: http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/prtcl/address2-eng.cfm