Ottawa must strengthen regulations and inspection requirements to protect the land and the ocean before B.C. will sup-port Enbridge's $6-billion Northern Gateway project, B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake said Thursday.
He said the federal funds available to clean up marine spills must also increase.
Lake's comments came as the National Energy Board announced stepped-up audits at Enbridge's control centre in Edmonton, and U.S. regulators told the company it could not restart a Wisconsin pipe-line following a recent leak until it hired an independent party to supervise a new safety plan.
"I'm talking about ensuring there are adequate safety audits of pipelines and tankers. That there are provisions for escort tugs, ports of refuge and equipment caches up and down the coast to respond [to spills], and that there's a fund that's available for all of that, which doesn't leave taxpayers on the hook," said Lake.
"I think the federal government understands now, if they didn't before, about how British Columbians feel about moving heavy oil through our province and that we need to protect the environment above all," Lake told a Vancouver news conference to outline the province's cross-examination strategy for the federal review of the project.
Technical hearings start this September in Edmonton and then move to Prince George and Prince Rupert. B.C. will focus its cross-examination on spill prevention, spill response and the financial liability of the pipeline and its partners.
Lake said the province will have some tough questions for Enbridge, noting British Columbians expect the Calgary-based company to cover 100-per-cent of the cleanup and remediation costs of an oil spill.
Generally, companies are responsible for cleanup costs of pipeline spills. Enbridge has spent $800 million cleaning up a 2010 Michigan spill.
But Lake said the approximately $1.3 billion available now for marine spills in B.C. - a combination of insurance, shipping levies and an international fund - is not adequate.
The cleanup costs of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska have been approximately $7 billion.
Transport Canada said it is already committed to taking steps to improve tanker safety and improve spill response, part of a two-year, $35.7-mil-lion package.
It includes new regulations to strengthen ship inspections, a review of the "handling" of oil products by an international panel of tanker safety experts, and improved charts for ship-ping routes, Transport Canada spokeswoman Maryse Durette said in an email.
Also on the list is research to improve knowledge of marine "pollution risks," said Durette.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark's Liberal government has said that besides the improved environment protections, the province would have to receive a fair share of the fiscal and economic benefits before it will support the project.
An Angus Reid Poll released this week showed a majority of British Columbians oppose the project, but many could be swayed if economic benefits and environmental protections were improved.
Enbridge is confident it can meet all of the safety demands by the B.C. government for the Northern Gateway project, chief executive Patrick Daniel said Thursday.
"We feel absolutely confident that we can do that," Daniel told a conference call to discuss the company's $11-million second-quarter profit.
New Democratic Party leader Adrian Dix said Lake's announcement Thursday was too little too late.
"They [the BC Liberal government] gave over jurisdiction for environmental assessment to a government [the federal Conservatives] that supports the project. They failed to present evidence and they are fighting with everything they have to stop their information from being presented," said Dix, referring to a technical report on the issue the government has not released because of cabinet confidentiality.
"All that's left to them is to ask questions based on Enbridge's evidence. ... That's pretty embarrassing, " he said.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Gordon Hoekstra
He said the federal funds available to clean up marine spills must also increase.
Lake's comments came as the National Energy Board announced stepped-up audits at Enbridge's control centre in Edmonton, and U.S. regulators told the company it could not restart a Wisconsin pipe-line following a recent leak until it hired an independent party to supervise a new safety plan.
"I'm talking about ensuring there are adequate safety audits of pipelines and tankers. That there are provisions for escort tugs, ports of refuge and equipment caches up and down the coast to respond [to spills], and that there's a fund that's available for all of that, which doesn't leave taxpayers on the hook," said Lake.
"I think the federal government understands now, if they didn't before, about how British Columbians feel about moving heavy oil through our province and that we need to protect the environment above all," Lake told a Vancouver news conference to outline the province's cross-examination strategy for the federal review of the project.
Technical hearings start this September in Edmonton and then move to Prince George and Prince Rupert. B.C. will focus its cross-examination on spill prevention, spill response and the financial liability of the pipeline and its partners.
Lake said the province will have some tough questions for Enbridge, noting British Columbians expect the Calgary-based company to cover 100-per-cent of the cleanup and remediation costs of an oil spill.
Generally, companies are responsible for cleanup costs of pipeline spills. Enbridge has spent $800 million cleaning up a 2010 Michigan spill.
But Lake said the approximately $1.3 billion available now for marine spills in B.C. - a combination of insurance, shipping levies and an international fund - is not adequate.
The cleanup costs of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska have been approximately $7 billion.
Transport Canada said it is already committed to taking steps to improve tanker safety and improve spill response, part of a two-year, $35.7-mil-lion package.
It includes new regulations to strengthen ship inspections, a review of the "handling" of oil products by an international panel of tanker safety experts, and improved charts for ship-ping routes, Transport Canada spokeswoman Maryse Durette said in an email.
Also on the list is research to improve knowledge of marine "pollution risks," said Durette.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark's Liberal government has said that besides the improved environment protections, the province would have to receive a fair share of the fiscal and economic benefits before it will support the project.
An Angus Reid Poll released this week showed a majority of British Columbians oppose the project, but many could be swayed if economic benefits and environmental protections were improved.
Enbridge is confident it can meet all of the safety demands by the B.C. government for the Northern Gateway project, chief executive Patrick Daniel said Thursday.
"We feel absolutely confident that we can do that," Daniel told a conference call to discuss the company's $11-million second-quarter profit.
New Democratic Party leader Adrian Dix said Lake's announcement Thursday was too little too late.
"They [the BC Liberal government] gave over jurisdiction for environmental assessment to a government [the federal Conservatives] that supports the project. They failed to present evidence and they are fighting with everything they have to stop their information from being presented," said Dix, referring to a technical report on the issue the government has not released because of cabinet confidentiality.
"All that's left to them is to ask questions based on Enbridge's evidence. ... That's pretty embarrassing, " he said.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Gordon Hoekstra
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