News
Tofino businesses balk at Enbridge oil pipeline, argue environmental threat
Aug 19, 2010, Canadian Press (Read article on originating site site)
TOFINO, B.C. - The Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce is taking a stand against a dual pipeline that would carry oil over 1,170 kilometres to Kitimat, B.C. from Alberta.
Don Travers, president of the chamber representing 275 businesses, informed the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency of his organization’s opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project in a letter on Wednesday.
“The board of directors of the (chamber) feels that an oil spill is inevitable with the increased tanker traffic on the coast associated with this project,” wrote Travers.
“The threat of such a devastating event is simply too great; we cannot jeopardize the biodiversity and marine habitat of our coastal areas.”
The agency has set up a joint review panel and will assess the project under the National Energy Board Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. It will also look at the pipeline’s environmental impacts.
The agency’s deadline for submissions is Sept. 8.
Travers said the Vancouver Island town has a stake in what happens because it is a coastal community located within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
In fact, oil washed ashore in Tofino and Clayoquot Sound in December 1988 after a tug rammed a barge off Gray’s Harbour, Wash.
Many B.C. beaches and sensitive ecosystems were affected by the spill.
“Reports indicated that as many as 56,000 seabirds were killed,” states a B.C. government website. “Many crab and shellfish populations were oiled in addition to herring spawning areas. Traditional native fishing practices were affected due to the contamination of the shoreline.”
In late June, the Central Coast Chamber of Commerce also condemned the project. In a letter it referred to the project’s “inevitable and horrific social, economic and environmental consequences.”
And in late March, the B.C. Coastal First Nations announced their own opposition to the pipelines. The group represents First Nations on B.C.‘s Central and North Coasts, as well as Haida Gwaii.
According to Enbridge’s website, a majority of the pipeline will be buried one metre under ground.
The project will create 5,500 person-years of employment during the construction phase and about 1,150 long-term jobs at the marine terminal and in operating the pipeline.
Enbridge estimates it will pay local, provincial and federal governments about $2.6 billion over 30 years.
The company says spill prevention is a top priority.
“The key to success is to prevent accidents before they happen through a variety of measures. Northern Gateway is committed to ensuring that vessels transporting petroleum and condensate via the Kitimat marine terminal will employ the highest worldwide safety and navigational standards.”
(Westcoaster.ca)