In its final written submission to the National Energy Board, the province has declined support of Enbridge’s controversial North Gateway project because the proposed pipeline does not meet Victoria’s environmental criteria for heavy-oil projects.
Chief among those concerns, as outlined in the 99-page written submission, is Enbridge’s ability to effectively respond to oil spills.
Reads the report: “With respect to the pipeline itself, NG [Northern Gateway] has asserted that it will be able to effectively respond to all spills. With respect to the marine aspect of the project, NG has committed to responding to a spill of up to 32,000 tons within six to 12 hours, and to have the capacity to recover that amount of oil within 10 days.
“However, NG has presented little evidence about how it will respond in the event of a spill. Put another way, it is not clear from the evidence that NG will in fact be able to respond effectively to spills either from the pipeline itself, or from tankers transporting diluted bitumen from the proposed Kitimat terminal.”
In a press release, Environment Minister Terry Lake had this to say about the province’s decision:
“British Columbia thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence and submissions made to the panel and asked substantive questions about the project including its route, spill response capacity and financial structure to handle any incidents. Our questions were not satisfactorily answered during these hearings.”
Added Lake: “We have carefully considered the evidence that has been presented to the joint review panel. The panel must determine if it is appropriate to grant a certificate for the project as currently proposed on the basis of a promise to do more study and planning after the certificate is granted. Our government does not believe that a certificate should be granted before these important questions are answered.”
Last year, Premier Christy Clark’s BC Liberals outlined five conditions for pipeline development in the province.
- the successful completion of the environmental review process – for the Northern Gateway project, this includes a recommendation from the National Energy Board that the project go ahead;
- the establishment of “world-leading” marine oil response, prevention and recovery systems to mitigate any potential spills;
- the establishment of similar oil response, prevention and recovery systems to mitigate spills on land;
- legal obligations ensuring aboriginal treaty rights are addressed and First Nations communities are consulted in the process; and
- B.C. receives its “fair share” of the fiscal and economic benefits of the proposed pipeline and that fair share should reflect the risks assumed by the province.
According to the release, the government said it still supports “heavy oil projects” but will apply the aforementioned criteria to each proposal as necessary.
To follow up on its written submission, the province will be making a presentation to the National Energy Board in Terrace, B.C. on June 17.
