Enbridge Update Faces Questions at Council
By 250 News
Monday, August 23, 2010 08:08 PM
Prince George, B.C. – One side of T-shirt carried this message “I’ve got this sinking feeling about Enbridge”.
There was no mistaking it, the young woman wearing that t-shirt is not in favour of the proposed twin pipeline between Bruderheim Alberta and Kitimat B.C. and she wanted to silently voice her opposition to the planned pipeline as the company gave Prince George City Council an update on it’s proposal.
Enbridge is entering into the public consultation period of it’s application, at a time 
when it is facing a great deal of negative media reports about the recent spill of crude in Michigan.
when it is facing a great deal of negative media reports about the recent spill of crude in Michigan. (photo at right, is split in Michigan pipeline, courtesy U.S. National Transportation Board)
In that case, more than 19,500 barrels (3.1 million litres) of oil leaked from a pipeline into a creek which feeds the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. In a release issued earlier today, the company said more than 52 kilometres of absorbent and containment boom have been laid out at 42 points along the river and wildlife response personnel have taken in 516 animals for cleaning , with 196 of them ( Canada Geese, frogs and turtles) already released. The company also says about 1,500 barrels of oil have been recovered, along with 50,000 barrels of oil-water mix.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the spill.
Meantime, Enbridge is trying to get people in this province on side for their planned twin pipeline. The Joint Panel Review process has already begun with one session held in Whitecourt August 10th, the next will be in Kitimat on the 31st, and then in Prince George on September 8th.
Michele Perret says although people have expressed concern over the width of the Douglas channel, it is far wider than the channel into the port of Vancouver.
Perret reiterated the safety measures, including monitoring 24/7, double hulled tankers, B.C. pilots to bring the ships into port, new, state of the art sonar.
Perret says the economic benefits have already been felt as the company has spent tens of millions of dollars in communities renting equipment , hotel rooms, and space for their technical work and consultation with local communities. The second phase that would provide benefits says Parret would be the construction phase which would create more than $4 billion dollars in labour costs, with the creation of 35 thousand person years of employment during the 2 ½ years of construction. The benefits carry on she says when the pipeline is operational as there is the benefit of taxes.
Councilor Dave Wilbur says the project got his attention with the promise of jobs, but the recent spill in the Gulf of Mexico has him very concerned about the risk of shipping oil along the B.C. Coast. Wilbur tried to press Enbridge to say it would take full responsibility for any oil spill off the coast, but the response was less than satisfactory. Michele Perret indicated Enbridge would take a share of the responsibility, but the ship has responsibility too.
The response time to the Michigan spill was a question posed by Councilor Cameron Stolz who wants to know how a response time can be maximized. Peret says while the response time in the Michigan case has yet to be determined, (all aspects of that spill areunder investigation) the lessons learned from that spill will be applied to Enbridge’s entire system. The rugged terrain and remoteness of the proposed B.C. line are a concern for both reporting time for a spill and response.
Councillor Sherri Green said that while the B.P. Gulf spill and the Michigan pipeline leak are tragic, “They may be ultimately to our benefit as you (Enbridge) are under increased scrutiny because of the spills.” She said she would expect the Northern Gateway Pipeline would use best technology available, and Enbridge spokesperson Michele Peret agreed.
Councilor Brian Skakun is not ready to support the project, asking if best technology is being used, and if response time is so good, how is it that 3.1 million barrels of crude were able to leak into a creek before the leak was stopped.
As the presentation ended, the other side of the young silent protester’s t-shirt became visible as she moved to leave the Council Chamber:
" No pipelines, No Tankers, No Problems."
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Posted by: Becca on August 23 2010 9:12 PM
How about they take full responsibility to guarantee that a spill never occurs??
What difference does it make if they take responsibility once the damage is done.
Does it matter who pays the bills for the clean up in the Gulf or in Michigan??
The main issue in both of those places is that a spill happened, it will be years before they recover, and the oil company executives will still be able to sit on their bank accounts well away from all the mess.