Report submitted on shipping oil by pipeline or rail
Posted January 5, 2014 2:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A task force created by our province and Alberta has submitted a report about energy exports.
It looks at what happens if the proposed Enbridge and Kinder Morgan projects get rejected, specifically whether Alberta oil can be shipped by rail to our coast instead of pipeline.
Ben West of the environmentalist group ForestEthics says the method of transportation doesn’t matter, British Columbians don’t want more oil shipped out. You know if you look at what is motivating people’s concern in British Columbia, a large portion of concern is around tankers on the coast and whether you’re talking about rail or pipeline, the ultimate objective would be to bring hundreds of tankers to the treacherous and dangerous coast of British Columbia.”
West says this whole process undermines public consultation. “This feels to me like an underhanded or backdoor way for the industry to bring tankers to the coast without the same set of public oversight or public protest that we’ve had around the Enbridge or Kinder Morgan pipelines.”
West says swapping rails for pipelines would be an underhanded moved by the government to skip over public consultation.
Oil transport by rail has become a contentious topic after a train containing crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic last summer, killing 47 people, and another exploded last week in North Dakota.
