Keeping our fingers crossed

CBC – June 28, 2016

Enbridge Northern Gateway seeks 3 year extension

Without permit extension or construction start, Northern Gateway done by end December

By Betsy Trumpener, CBC News Posted: Jun 28, 2016

Time is running out for Enbridge Northern Gateway.

Approvals for the controversial pipeline project require construction to start by Dec. 31, 2016.

But those permits appear likely to expire — before any pipelines are built.

"Clearly, we're not focused on construction schedules and a construction start date," said Catherine Pennington, Senior Manager and ‎Director of Community Partnerships at Northern Gateway Pipelines in Prince George.

Enbridge wants time to 'build relationships'

"We've been focussing almost exclusively on building relationships with indigenous communities and we really need the time," said Pennington.

Pennington said Enbridge is busy trying to build local support to "build a better project."

"Really, right from the beginning, Northern Gateway should have done a better job of building relationships with indigenous, First Nations, Metis and Indigenous communities, particularly on the west coast, " she said.

Pennington also said Enbridge needs more time to "receive clarity on some outstanding legal and regulatory issues."

But opponents of Northern Gateway oppose an extension.

Enbridge's time is up. It's pretty clear communities have said, 'No.' — Nadia Nowak, Sea to Sands

'Enbridge's time is up'

"Enbridge's time is up," said Nadia Nowak, a community organizer with the Sea to Sands group in Prince George.

"It's pretty clear communities have said no to this project. We don't think they deserve any more of our time or energy,' said Nowak.

Nowak is one of more than 2,000 people who have mailed or faxed in letters of public comment to the National Energy Board as it considers Enbridge's extension request.

More than 2,000 people weighed in

"The response has been quite extraordinary," said Sarah Kiley, a communications officer with the National Energy Board. "We've received well over 2,000 letters of comment...to let us know what we should consider."

If the extension request is turned down, the Northern Gateway Project could be finished before it gets started.

"The certificates attached to this project would expire and the company would no longer have the approvals it needed to construct the project," said Kiley.

Now the National Energy Board — and ultimately Justin Trudeau's federal cabinet — will decide if the sun is setting on Northern Gateway or if Enbridge will be granted an extension to December 31, 2019.

Stay strong

The following note was sent out to members of Friends of Morice-Bulkley this evening  - thanks to them for keeping us focused.

Dear Friends of Morice-Bulkley,

It is the eve of the Joint Review Panel’s recommendation to Cabinet regarding Enbridge Northern Gateway. They are set to release their report at 1:30 pm tomorrow, December 19. This is an important moment in our work to stop this pipeline but it is not the end. 

No matter what the JRP says, Enbridge does not have social license or First Nations approval. For the people of BC, nothing changes: we have clearly expressed our opposition to the pipeline, tankers on the coast and the threat of bitumen spills. First Nations have formally banned pipelines from their territories and tankers from their seas.

 

A yes recommendation, with conditions, wouldn’t be a surprise. The NEB has a record of approving almost every project brought before it and it is clear that industry lobbyists have undermined this review process. 

You have all done incredible work to give this movement the strength that it has. From marching in the streets, to writing letters, to testifying in front of the JRP, it is your stories and your passion for this place that has created a province-wide movement of opposition. 

In Smithers, 119 residents opened their hearts to the JRP and shared their love for their homes and their passion for protecting it. To revisit those moments, or if you weren’t there and want to be inspired by the powerful testimony of your friends and neighbours, here are a few links to the transcripts: 

 April 23, 2012 transcript 

 April 24, 2012  transcript

 April 25, 2012  transcript

 April 26, 2012  transcript

 April 27, 2012  transcript

 

We will be paying close attention to the release of the report tomorrow and following up with you. Until then...

Best,

FOMB Steering Committee

Three years on

I walked over to Driftwood Creek this evening to see if I could spot the harlequin ducks that make their way up into the mountains to breed every spring. I’ve written about them often because as well as being beautiful birds, they’re a wonderful signal about the way in which watersheds connect us all, both up and downstream.

 As I stood on the bridge, I realized it’s been almost three years since I started this blog. Three years of a rollercoaster ride of information, of emotion, and of empowerment. We’ve informed ourselves, we’ve told our stories about this amazing region, and we’ve put both the pipeline industry and the National Energy Board on notice. The latest Enbridge news shows us just how complacent both the industry and its regulators have been about safety regulations.

To quote today’s Globe and Mail article,

Canada’s energy regulator has given Enbridge Inc., one of the country’s two pipeline giants, until 2016 to comply with rules tied to its emergency shutdown requirements – demands the watchdog made after finding 117 of 125 pump stations across the country were not up to snuff.

The National Energy Board approved Enbridge’s proposed plan last week after determining a number of the company’s pump stations lacked emergency shutdown push-buttons and an alternate source of power needed to operate the shutdowns.

Enbridge’s regulatory shortcomings arrive as energy companies face fierce opposition, with critics pointing fingers at the industry’s stumbles. However, while the NEB found Enbridge violated the rules, the regulator also admits it only recently started pursuing investigations tied to emergency shutdown mechanisms.

So when Enbridge "claims that it is recognized as 'an industry leader in pipeline safety and integrity,'" we know just how little that means. 

When spring finally arrives in the north, it feels like a runaway freight train. Daylight increases so quickly, night feels like a quaint relic from some distant era. Plants shove themselves up toward that light, gobbling it like young lambs batter their mothers’ udders. Wild onions, nettles, and morels offer themselves to impatient gardeners. Bears paw through ant hills and gobble cottonwood buds. Warblers and winter wrens sing their melodic love songs while ravens and jays scavenge for food to feed the hatchlings in their nests. 

Meanwhile the creek’s clamour rides in through our open windows and cliffs slump their muddy debris into the runoff, a wild ride that has barely begun. This is a time to remember and respect water and its gifts, its strengths, its danger. If we hold anything sacred, these creeks and rivers should be it: hallelujah to its wild ways.

If you’ve found yourself distracted from the true stories of the north, distracted by the oil industries prophecies of disaster if we actually elect a government that won’t do its biddings, you might want to give a good listen to Rachelle VanZanten. She’s just released a new album, Oh Mother, which includes some songs that will raise your spirits - to find out when she’ll be in your neighbourhood, check out Rachelle's tour dates. 

Or you might want to have another look at the Driftwood Foundation’s 4000 Reasons Video made in June of last year. We are still here and we’re still singing.