Expert Panel Calls for Polluters to Pay Full Cost of Marine Oil Spills
Ottawa, Ont. – A 65 page report on oil tanker safety, has made 45 recommendations, including a call for the elimination of the liability limit of $161 million dollars per spill to ensure the company involved pays for the full cost of the spill clean up. “Canadian taxpayers should not bear any liability for spills in Canadian waters” states the panel in its executive summary.
The report, prepared by an expert panel for the Federal Government, also calls for improved response time to marine spills, regular training exercises, increased resources for Environment Canada, the Coast Guard and Transport Canada as a means of improving a system which it says is lacking when it comes to handling wildlife that has been impacted by such an incident.
According to the report, tanker traffic in B.C.’s water could increase by about 600 ships based on the two oil pipeline proposals that are under review.
Premier Christy Clark has made it clear that one of B.C.’s five conditions to supporting the Northern Gateway is that there must be a world class spill response and environmental protection plan in place.
The Joint Review Panel on the Northern Gateway project is to present its recommendations on that proposal by the end of this month.
In response to the panel report released today, Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt says the Federal Government will act on the advice from the panel and “will work to create a world class tanker safety system here in Canada.”
The full report can be accessed here.
Comments
âCanadian taxpayers should not bear any liability for spills in Canadian watersâ
or land, or lakes or streams.
If you are a spilly billy, then it should be on your dime, not mine.
That should go for spills anywhere, not just the marine environment.
Anyone else feel like someone just rubbed a greasy pork chop all over their bum in preparation for something?
I’m going to have a shower now.
How dos this apply to a limited liability corporation? Such as Northern Gateway? They’ll just fold their tent and steal off into the night with the profits they’ve alrady made. What a pile of horse feathers!
“The report, prepared by an expert panel for the Federal Government, also calls for improved response time to marine spills, regular training exercises, increased resources for Environment Canada, the Coast Guard and Transport Canada as a means of improving a system which it says is lacking when it comes to handling wildlife that has been impacted by such an incident.”
This all sounds so expensive, hey I have an idea, why not just NOT transport oil to, and off, our coast and save all that money? This would also not just minimize the risk of an oil spill, but will virtually eliminate that risk.
Oops, our Big Oil & Gas government says the oil is going to flow, one way or another it will flow. So take this scripted news conference for what it’s worth people⦠a steaming pile of _ _ _ _!
We are in luck. We are sitting just north of the biggest oil guzzling country in the world and we do not even have to transport anything by ocean.
If they want to refine it and ship it to other countries, it is on their dime. :-)
The US in the not distance future has the potential to be energy independent and may not need oil imports. The keystone pipeline may not be built after for this reason. Makes Gateway more important.
Krusty – the answer to that is simple. The company must be made to post a bond up front that would cover the estimated cost of such a spill.
The problem with that is that governments, being what they are, would probably put it into general revenue, spend it and then when it is needed, make the taxpayer foot the bill anyways.
Sigh.
Seamut they have already hit peak oil in the Dakota’s… output has been declining now at about 60,000 barrels a day every month the last while. Over hyped boom bust.
Harper shut down the west coast spill response unit and relocated it to Quebec… so what spill response are they talking about?
Bituman sinks so I’m not sure how they could do anything but watch if it was a bituman tanker that went down.
I don’t think it is enough to hold a limited liability subsidiary corporation liable for the full cost when they are nothing more than a profit center… what is needed is any company working with risky projects having the appropriate insurance policy to ensure there will be funds available for any necessary cleanup.
If a project like Northern Gateway had to fully fund its risk through insurance policies the project would never happen… that should tell us all something. I don’t think the same could be said about a LNG project being fully insured.
Three years since the spill Enbridge is still trying to clean up the Kalamazoo. As a matter of fact the US has ordered them back to dredge the river some more! They are into it for 1 billion already. Why did they have to order them back? Where did they go? I guess they thought the job they did was good enough!
Three years 1 billion!
Lot of talk, world class spill plan my ass.Questioned Enbridge on spills and they agree when it leaves the port not their problem however support the government in a world class spill program but not with their money. On land they are responsible and plans in the works to address any land spills however winter, snow and cold will make it challenging in remote areas should they have a spill. However they will have the best technology in the world to prevent a spill so not to worry :)
Yes, on land it is the pipeline’s responsibility. Once on the tanker it is the tanker owner or leaser’s responsibility. Exxon owned its own tankers but I don’t think Enbridge owns any
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