Enbridge
Project Overview
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project proposal includes two parallel 1,170 kilometer pipelines from the tar sands in northern Alberta to a proposed oil port in Kitimat. One pipeline would carry between 400,000 to 1,000,000 barrels a day of crude oil from the Alberta tar sands to the BC coast. The second pipeline would carry 193,000 barrels a day of condensate, a mixture containing chemicals and petroleum used to dilute the thick, molasses like crude oil so that is can travel by pipeline. The proposed Enbridge pipeline would require over 1,000 stream and river crossings--this includes several hundred crossings in the Copper and Morice watersheds, two of the Skeena’s largest salmon producing tributaries.
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Project would also include the construction of a loading facility, including tank farms, near Kitimat. Super tankers would transport oil and condensate along BC’s coast from Kitimat to markets in the United States, China India, and others. It is anticipated that approximately 225 condensate and crude oil tankers every year would travel our inside coastal waters. This traffic could include approximately 18 condensate and crude oil tankers per month, including four to five Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) with a capacity of 2 million barrels of oil or more. These ships are about 1,155 feet long—the length of 3.5 football fields—and 200 feet wide.
Approval of the Enbridge Gateway pipeline project would require creating a loophole in or lifting of a 37-year-old federal moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic in British Columbia’s fragile inside waters.
Spill Risk and Impacts to Wildlife, Humans and Economies
The coastlines of the northern BC are among the richest in the world. It includes numerous salmon and Gray whale migratory routes, at least 650 spawning rivers, the Pacific Flyway, and the feeding habitat of Humpback whales and Orca. The wild salmon economy in BC—including commercial fishing, fish processing and sport fishing generate close to $1.7 billion combined each year in BC. The commercial fishery in BC employs approximately 16,000 people. Additionally, the north coast crab fishery supports 41 commercial crab vessels that fish Dungeness crab in Hecate Strait, injecting another $20 million into local economies. An oil spill along the BC coast would devastate marine animals and destroy their habitats, with colossal consequences on local communities, fisheries and related tourism industries—even more catastrophic than the Exxon Valdes oil spill of 1989.
The north and central coast present some of the most hostile environments for oil tanker traffic—it is one of the most active earthquake zones in Canada and the stormy unpredictable nature of the weather has given it a reputation for having some of the worst winter storms. Winds have been recorded at 200 km/hour, producing waves at 29 metres tall. According to Anderson and Lebelle (2000), based on the amount of oil intended to travel through the proposed pipeline route, it is predicted that there would be an oil spill of over 1,000 barrels about every five years, and a catastrophic spill of over 10,000 barrels every 12 years. Today, a 15% oil spill recovery is considered a success. Spill recovery technologies in marine environments require ideal weather conditions. In the instance of Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, 3% of the oil was recovered. Spills and leaks can be a major source of water contamination in streams, rivers, lakes and ocean environments. Impacts of oil spills—both marine and fresh water—would have devastating effects.
Health risks associated with both oil and gas development and water contamination are serious. Oil spills pose the risk of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a known carcinogen that persists long after an oil spill has occurred. Condensate also contains persistent PAHs, although the impacts of condensate spills are less known. Land based oil spills carry the potential to contaminate drinking water through direct spills in rivers and streams, which will cause leaching and contamination to groundwater. Contamination from oil spills on fish and wildlife also pose serious health risks to humans.
Jobs
The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway project will provide an estimated 35-40 long term jobs at the marine terminal in Kitimat. Enbridge says that they would create over 4,000 jobs along the pipeline route during the three-year construction period (approximately 1300 jobs per year). But, it is not clear that British Columbians would benefit from those jobs. In order to meet the ambitious timelines set for this project, it is likely that workers from Alberta or foreign countries would be brought in to ensure that the pipeline is built on time.
Enbridge Northern Gateway is not the only oil and gas pipeline proposed for northern BC, the newly named “gateway” means that overtime, the effects of these projects could be multiplied. This is known as “cumulative impacts”—the sum of their impacts is greater than the impacts of a single project. When one company builds roads and facilities it makes it more accessable and affordable for other companies to develop the areas nearby. The long term effects of oil and gas development in BC will undoubtedly mean significant changes for communities, fish and wildlife and consequently on our way of life.
Information provided by West Coast Environmental Law
More information on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline from West Coast Environmental Law:
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline: Do British Columbians Stand to Gain?
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline: Getting the Decision Right
Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline: risks for downstream communities and fisheries
Information From Pembina Institute:
Pipelines and Salmon in Northern British Columbia
Fact Sheet- Oil and Salmon Don’t Mix
