{"id":40198,"date":"2014-05-20T23:19:49","date_gmt":"2014-05-21T03:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=40198"},"modified":"2014-07-21T15:43:21","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T19:43:21","slug":"prime-minister-harper-stiffens-regulations-for-oil-spills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/prime-minister-harper-stiffens-regulations-for-oil-spills\/","title":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Harper Stiffens Regulations For Oil Spills!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally Published on the ECOreport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>
Image of Burrard Inlet – taken from the Wilderness Committee’s video “Save the Salish Sea”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Federal Government responded within 24 hours of Vancouver\u2019s calling for a referendum<\/a><\/strong> on Kinder Morgan\u2019s proposed Trans Mountain expansion project. Not by ensuring BC residents can obtain a proper hearing before the National Energy Board \u2013 Vancouver\u2019s complaint \u2013 instead, Harper stiffens regulations for oil spills.<\/p>\n

The possibility of an oil spill is one of the strongest objections that British Columbians have to both of the province\u2019s proposed pipeline projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cA major tanker spill off the coast of northern British Columbia could wipe out any potential economic gains from the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project,\u201d a University of British Columbia report<\/a><\/strong> concluded in 2012.<\/p>\n

The prospect of a spill close to the harbors of Vancouver or Victoria is even more alarming.<\/p>\n

There have been at least seven large land oil spills on the Trans Mountain pipeline<\/a><\/strong>, including one that resulted in 250,000 gallons soaking a residential area in Burnaby, since 2005.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Where Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline ends by\u00a0the ocean – taken from the WIlderness Committee’s video “Save the Salish Sea”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prime Minister Harper\u2019s Government has decreed that pipeline operators must now carry up to $1 billion<\/a><\/strong> in insurance to cover the clean-up costs of land based spills. This is the amount that Enbridge had to pay to clean up the 2010 Kalamazoo oil spill in Michigan and also the amount that the government of British Columbia is demanding as one of the five conditions for approving the Northern Gateway Pipeline.<\/p>\n

Philippe Reicher, vice president of external affairs for the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, said, \u201cIt\u2019s always been like this anyway. Under the current regime, the pipeline company will always be responsible for the cleanup and the costs associated with it, regardless of who\u2019s responsible for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The announcement were made just prior to a pipeline rupturing in Los Angeles; emptying 10,000 gallons of crude onto the streets.<\/p>\n

\"Burrard<\/a>
Burrard Inlet \u2013 Ruth Hartnup, cc by 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Liability for a spill at sea will be increased to $400 million<\/a><\/strong> and compensation paid to claimants who lost earnings, as well as those who suffered property damages.<\/p>\n

The Feds also responded to Premier Christy Clark\u2019s demand that BC be given a \u201cworld class\u201d marine and land oil spill response. This includes modern technology, legislation that will allow the use of chemical dispersants and burning spilled oil \u201cwhen there is likely to be a net environmental benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

These announcements do not address Vancouver\u2019s complaint that the National Energy Board is \u201cfast-tracking\u201d Kinder Morgan\u2019s application, \u201cdenying thousands of people who applied to participate the chance to be heard, limiting commentators to just a one-page written statement with no possibility of presenting oral statements as were allowed in previous hearing processes and not allowing intervenors to question witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nor have all Vancouver\u2019s questions<\/strong><\/a> been answered.<\/p>\n