Terrace, B.C. – Terrace residents got the chance to pose questions about the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project to company officials at the first of three “community technical meetings” last night. Fewer than fifty turned up at the event, which was a low-key affair not marked by any of the demonstrations seen at other Northern Gateway Project related functions.

The meeting was not the community forum that Terrace City Council and the Kitimat and Terrace District Labour Council had first proposed to Enbridge earlier this spring. Citing concerns about environmentalists and those opposed to the project hijacking the forum, Enbridge decided to decline the joint invitation and hold its own meeting. The event was a tightly moderated affair that started out with an hour’s worth of presentations from Enbridge officials ranging from pipeline integrity and risk management to the company’s aboriginal relations program followed by audience questions.

Terrace mayor Dave Pernarowski says he was pleased that residents did have a chance to ask questions of the panel, which was one of the goals of the original forum idea. “Really the idea, the intent from our proposed meeting to Enbridge through the labour council was just this; to have a public open forum where people could ask questions. Fortunately the presentation portion of the meeting just briefly outlined the project and has allowed a bit of time for folks to get those questions out where they have concerns and then to hear from the experts, from Enbridge how they plan to answer those concerns.”

One of the concerns came from Jim Culp, Chair of the Northern Branch of the Steelhead Society of British Columbia, who expressed doubts about Enbridge’s ability to clean up an oil spill along the fast flowing waters of Northwest B.C. like the Skeena. Noting that the river has several steep canyon areas that are virtually inaccessible, Culp wanted to know how the company planned to approach a spill scenario on the Skeena. Culp added that the swift water of the Skeena is nothing like the Kalamazoo river area spill that Enbridge is currently dealing with.

Engineering Manager Ray Doering says Enbridge will eventually have to detailed response plans for each of the 773 water course crossings that Northern Gateway pipeline will make, although there are only four examples currently available to provide examples. Doering also admitted that the company is not infallible.

The community meetings continue tonight in Kitimat and Thursday in Burns Lake.