Aug 28, 2012 - 6 years ago
By Supply Post
In advance of the Aug.
3 Joint Review Panel (JRP)
deadline, B.C. formally
submitted its intention to
cross-examine Northern
Gateway Pipelines (NGP)
on their Enbridge Northern
Gateway Project at the
JRP hearings, Minister of
Environment Terry Lake
announced recently.
“Our government, as an
intervener in the hearings,
has some tough questions
for Northern Gateway
Pipelines that we believe
are at the heart of ensuring
B.C.’s environment is
protected from any and
all heavy oil pipeline proposals,”
said Lake. “We
have made our requirements
clear: if you want
to do business in British
Columbia, you must have
world-leading polices and
processes governing spill
prevention, spill response
and liability insurance
that reduces government
and public exposure to
risk.”
Specific elements of
world-leading marine and
land oil-spill management
will be of particular relevance
to the anticipated
cross-examination and
relate directly to the findings
in the Government’s
July 23, 2012 technical
analysis, “Requirements
for British Columbia to
Consider Support for
Heavy Oil Pipelines.”
Questioning will focus
on:
• Spill prevention, including
tanker evaluation,
provisions for escort
tugs and the training
of tug crews as well as
commitments NGP has
recently made to improve
pipeline safety
and mitigate spill risk.
Those commitments
include increasing the
wall thickness of the
pipeline, increasing the
frequency of inspections,
installing dual
leak-detection systems
and 24/7 staffing of
pump stations in remote
locations.
• Spill response, including
commitments NGP
has made to exceed
regulatory standards
for spill response and
tanker safety, the use of
rescue and escort tugs
as well as crew training.
Further information
will be sought regarding
response planning,
including the ability to
overcome geographic
and climate challenges,
and challenges specific
to the nature of heavy
oil. The extent of NGP’s
reliance on the Western
Canada Marine
Response Corporation
and practices of NGP in
the wake of the spill in
Michigan will also be
probed.
• Financial liability of
NGP and its partners for
spill response and restoration
as well as details
regarding liability insurance
and plans for full
environmental restoration
in the event of a
spill. This includes the
scope of NGP’s liability
and insurance.
Beyond the B.C. Government’s
cross examination
of NGP, there are five
requirements that must be
met before consideration
of any heavy oil pipeline
proposal will proceed:
1. Successful completion
of the environmental
review process. In
the case of NGP, that
would mean a recommendation
by the National
Energy Board
Joint Review Panel
that the project can
proceed.
2. World-leading marine
oil spill response,
prevention and recovery
systems for B.C.’s
coastline and ocean to
manage and mitigate
the risks and cost of
heavy-oil pipelines and
shipments.
3. World-leading practices
for land oil-spill
prevention, response
and recovery systems
to manage and mitigate
the risks and costs of
heavy-oil pipelines.
4. Legal requirements
regarding Aboriginal
and treaty rights are
addressed, and First
Nations are provided
with the opportunities,
information and
resources necessary to
participate in and benefit
from a heavy-oil
project.
5. BC receives a fair share
of the fiscal and economic
benefits of a proposed
heavy-oil project
that reflects the level,
degree and nature of
the risk borne by the
province, the environment
and taxpayers.
These requirements
not only inform B.C.’s
cross-examination of the
company to the extent
that they are relevant to
their accountabilities, but
are also informing engagement
with the governments
of Alberta and
Canada.
“Thousands of British
Columbians have registered to participate in
the hearings,” said Lake.
“This speaks to the vital
importance environmental
protection has in this
province, and is reflected
in the principled position
our government is
taking with this and any
proposal for a heavy oil
pipeline.”
Cross-examination at
the joint panel final hearings
will begin Sept. 4 and
run through December
2012. Final hearings are
scheduled in Edmonton
(tentatively Sept. 4 to 28),
Prince George (tentatively
Oct. 1 to Nov. 10) and
Prince Rupert (tentatively
Nov. 12 to Dec. 18).
B.C. awaits specific
dates for its cross-examination
from the joint review
panel, and in the
meantime will continue
to review evidence and
refine lines of questioning.
Given the nature of
the topics being discussed
in each community and
the scheduled locations
of specific witness panels,
B.C. anticipates undertaking
some cross-examination
in each of the three
communities.
The applicant, all interveners
(including B.C.)
and government participants
have the opportunity
to make final arguments
during the final-argument
phase of the JRP’s review,
currently scheduled for
March and April 2013.