B.C. focuses on Northern Gateway spill response
CBC News
Posted: Oct 10, 2012 9:53 AM PT
Last Updated: Oct 10, 2012 11:32 AM PT
Related
Related Stories
B.C.'s chief legal strategist at the Northern Gateway hearings in Prince George believes an intense examination of safety plans for the $6-billion pipeline proposal should reveal any flaws.
The current round of the Federal Joint Review Panel hearings,which continued Wednesday in Prince George, are focusing on the emergency planning along the proposed 1,200-kilometre route across central B.C.
Former B.C. attorney general Geoff Plant says he wants to know if Enbridge really can mount an effective spill response in remote wilderness locations.
Plant says the province is concerned that even a small leak of heavy, sticky bitumen will foul pristine creeks and flow into larger rivers — causing a lot of harm very quickly.
Meanwhile, a former B.C. energy minister who supports the pipeline project is criticizing Enbridge's handling of the proposal, saying Enbridge has failed to sell a good project to the public.
Bad PR for good project, says senator
Conservative Senator Richard Neufeld was the energy minister for the B.C. Liberal government through much of the last decade. Now he is particularly critical of Enbridge's announcement that it plans to spend an additional half a billion dollars improving the safety of the pipeline.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced former B.C. attorney general Geoff Plant would be the province's chief legal strategist on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal, during a news conference in Richmond, B.C., in September. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)Enbridge announced the upgrade shortly after a U.S. report criticized its handling of a serious spill on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan in 2010 that cost $800 million to clean up.
"Why wasn't that $500 million there to start with? They obviously must have known that, because they announced it pretty quick. So that really sent a huge red flag up to me. What is going on? Where did they start with their safety? I don't know," said Neufeld.
The final hearings in Prince George this month will focus on environmental and socio-economic effects, impacts on landowners and land use, routing, design and construction, and operation safety.
The hearings then move to Prince Rupert in November where they will focus on aboriginal rights and interests, environmental and socio-economic effects from the marine terminal and shipping, marine safety and accident response, and public and community consultation.
Final arguments will be presented to the panel next spring, which must make a recommendation by the end of 2013. Ottawa is expected to make a decision within six months of the panel's review.
With files from The Canadian PressShare Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- One dead as floatplane overturns in Bute Inlet
- At least one person is dead after a plane came down in Bute Inlet on the South Coast of B.C., the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria says. more »
- Kamloops man skydives for 90th birthday
- A Kamloops man has crossed another item off his bucket list by jumping out of a plane to mark his 90th birthday. more »
- Aboriginal woman settles lawsuit over 3½ years solitary confinement
- The B.C. Civil Liberties Association says it has resolved a lawsuit against the government of Canada filed on behalf of a 26-year-old aboriginal woman from Saskatchewan who was held in solitary confinement in a federal prison for more than 3½ years. more »
- B.C. teachers win fight over political posters in schools
- British Columbia's teachers are free to express their political opinions through buttons and posters in schools after a B.C. Appeal Court panel sided with the union in a constitutional challenge. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Search for Oklahoma tornado survivors nearly complete
- Rescue workers raced to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of nine children. more »
- Senate sends Duffy expense audit for 2nd internal review
- The Senate decided to send Senator Mike Duffy's audit report back to its internal committee for a second review, despite objections from the Liberal Senate leader, who argued the RCMP should be tasked with the job. more »
- Kids from levelled Oklahoma schools recount deadly tornado
- Children from two Oklahoma schools levelled Monday by a powerful tornado are recounting what it was like to survive the "loud" and "scary" twister, while rescuers near the end of their search for any other remaining survivors or bodies. more »
- Only 1 set of human remains found at Millard farm, police say
- Hamilton police have confirmed that they are dealing with only a single set of human remains at the Waterloo region farm of Dellen Millard. more »
- Jodi Arias gives jailhouse interviews as jury mulls execution
- In a surprise jailhouse interview just hours after a jury began deliberating her fate, Jodi Arias spoke out Tuesday about her murder trial, her many fights with her legal team and her belief that she 'deserves a second chance at freedom someday.' more »
- Cloverdale Rodeo 'racist attack' investigated
- One dead as floatplane overturns in Bute Inlet
- Aboriginal woman settles lawsuit over 3½ years solitary confinement
- B.C. mine's temporary foreign workers case dismissed
- B.C. girl killed after 11-year-old crashes jeep
- B.C. teachers win fight over political posters in schools
- Illegal tree cutting nets charges for arborist, homeowners
- Kamloops man skydives for 90th birthday
- Motorcyclist dead after head-on crash on Lions Gate Bridge
