Douglas Channel, the proposed termination point for an oil pipeline in the Enbridge Northern Gateway of an aerial view in Kitimat, British Columbia.
Photo Credit: Darryl Dyck/CP

Canadian province rejects Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal

The government of the Pacific coast province of British Columbia (B.C.)  has rejected a proposal for the Northern Gateway pipeline project, saying it fails to address the province’s environmental concerns.

The announcement was made Friday (May 31) in a written submission to the Northern Gateway Pipeline Joint Review Panel.

“British Columbia thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence and submissions made to the panel and asked substantive questions about the project, including its route, spill response capacity and financial structure to handle any incidents,” said Environment Minister Terry Lake.

“Our government does not believe that a certificate should be granted before these important questions are answered.” The province also reiterated the five conditions it says would need to be met in order to approve the pipeline, including top-notch oil spill prevention and response measures.

The $5.5-billion Northern Gateway project aims to construct two pipelines stretching 1,177-kilometres from the oilsands in the neighbouring province of Alberta to a tanker port on the North Coast of British Columbia with the capacity to move 525,000 barrels of oil per day.

The statement from the province says “the position adopted by B.C. on the Northern Gateway Pipeline project as currently proposed is not a rejection of heavy-oil projects,” keeping the door open to Kinder Morgan’s proposed expansion to the Kinder Morgan pipeline and a $13-billion crude oil refinery near Kitimat proposed by B.C. newspaper publisher David Black.

The province is expected to present oral final arguments to the joint review panel on June 17.

Earlier Friday, a Postmedia News article quoted the president of Northern Gateway, John Carruthers, that the company was heartened by the re-election of Liberal Premier Christy Clark:

“What we understood from the results of the election was that (British Columbians) want a strong economy, they want the jobs the strong economy provides, and they want the social services that the tax revenue from the strong economy can provide,” Carruthers said.

And in the province of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Minister Diana McQueen downplayed B.C.’s rejection of the project, saying the review process would continue.

“This is an ongoing, federally regulated review,” said McQueen,  “And I expect that the concerns brought forward by the government of British Columbia will be discussed and addressed through that forum.”

More information:
CBC News – B.C. rejects Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal – here
Postmedia News – Northern Gateway executive heartened at B.C. election result – here
Bloomberg Businessweek – British Columbia Says It Can’t Back Enbridge’s Northern Gateway – here

Update:
Interesting analysis from Don Braid/Calgary Herald – There’s a big win for B.C. Premier Clark somewhere down pipeline – here

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