LandKeepers News Archive
First Nations Groups Vow to Halt Pipeline
March 30 2010 | News Articles | The Northern View
B.C. First Nations members are prepared to use whatever measures necessary, including blockades, to prevent the development of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, according Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip.
On Tuesday, the 21st anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Coastal First Nations issued a statement declaring, “…oil tankers carrying crude oil from the Alberta tar sands will not be allowed to transit our lands and waters.” The Coastal First Nations is an alliance of nine aboriginal groups on B.C.’s coast.
Phillip said the B.C. Union of Indian Chiefs passed a motion opposing the project in solidarity with the Coast First Nations and Carrier Sekani Tribal Council which has also opposed the project. Blockades are a certainty if the project goes ahead, Phillip said.
“What options do we have? We have the courts and assertion measures on the land and water,” he said. “We’ll get arrested if it comes to that. We are gravely concerned about the implications and ramifications as it relates to the transport of petroleum projects on the north coast.”
Enbridge is expected to file its proposal to a federal join review panel this spring.
“I don’t think you’ll find a First Nation in B.C. that does not oppose the (joint review) process. It does not recognize our aboriginal title interests,” Phillip said. “In our view, the (joint review) process is merely rubber stamping these grandiose resource projects.”
First Nations, environmental, fishing and recreational interests are coming together in opposition to the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project, he said.
“It’s a huge issue and we are very much in opposition,” Phillip said.
The primary concern is about the risk of an oil tanker spill from one of the 225 tankers scheduled to arrive at the Kitimat oil terminal each year, he said. The 1,170 km dual pipeline will also cross over 1,000 streams and rivers, raising concerns about an inland oil spill.
A 36-inch pipeline would transport an average 525,000 barrels of oil to Kitimat per day to be loaded in oil tankers heading to California and Asia.
A 20-inch pipeline would move 193,000 barrels of condensate — a chemical treatment for crude oil — east from Kitimat to Edmonton.
The project involves creating three tunnels through the Telkwa Pass totalling 12km. The proposed route for the project would follow Highway 37 north from Kitimat before veering east passing just north of Burns Lake, south of Fort St. James, north of Bear Lake, south of Grand Prairie, south of Mayerthorpe and into Strathcona Country.
Enbridge Northern Gateway senior communications manager Jennifer Varey issued a written statement to the media regarding the opposition.
The project will be subject to a Joint Review Panel, which will examine every aspect of the project in detail, Varey said.
“It’s important to note that the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project will be required to undergo a comprehensive and rigourous regulatory review process to ensure the project is in the interest of the Canadian public,” Varey said in the statement. “This three-member panel is empowered by two federal statutes: the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the National Energy Board Act. This is the highest level of regulatory scrutiny an economic development project can receive.”
Enbridge Northern Gateway has formed five community advisory boards made up of First Nations organizations, business leaders, local government and environmental organizations, she added. The boards discuss all components of the project.
In a presentation to the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors on March 18, project spokesman Kevin Brown said the company anticipates the joint review panel process to take 30-36 months.
“A big portion of this project is the marine aspect,” Brown said. “What’s really critical is to see this project as a way to increase marine emergency response on the west coast.”
Currently oil tankers arrive nearly daily to serve oil refineries and terminals in the Lower Mainland, he added.
Find this article at:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/thenorthernview/news/89492132.html
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