Oil & Water don't mix

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You might imagine then, that the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline might be relatively safe, given it runs mostly over land. However, as the proposed 1177km double pipeline snakes its way across Alberta and BC, it would need to cross over 1000 streams and rivers - an average of almost one stream or river crossing for every kilometer of pipe built.

These rivers include the headwaters of two of BC’s largest rivers, the Fraser and the Skeena, raising the potential for contamination as far away as Prince Rupert or Vancouver where they reach the ocean. The route also threatens the watersheds feeding the Stuart River, the Morice River, the Copper River, the Kitimat River and the Salmon River.

Should there be a leak from either of the two pipes, something that is nearly guaranteed in the life of these projects, tar sands oil or highly poisonous condensate would be swept kilometers downstream, with disastrous consequences for fish, their ecosystems and the livelihoods they support.      

The massive network of waterways the route crosses are home to many threatened species of aquatic life, including the main spawning grounds of all five native species of wild pacific salmon found in B.C. These salmon are essential not only to the way of life for Aboriginal communities, but also underpin countless jobs in tourism and commercial fishing across the province.  The commercial and recreational salmon fisheries alone are valued at an estimated $750 million per year to the BC economy. Risks to this industry clearly outweigh any potential revenue generated from Northern Gateway project.

The numbers of wild salmon spawning in BCs major rivers have declined sharply in recent decades due to countless other environmental pressures. A spill in a key spawning river would spell collapse for fish populations that are already struggling. BC salmon need better environmental protection, not new major threats to their spawning grounds.

It is well known that oil spilled into a river is extremely difficult to clean up. A major oil spill in 2010 from one of Enbridge’s pipelines in Michigan dumped over 3 million litres of crude oil into the Kalamazoo river. The oil washed more than 50km downstream thoroughly contaminating the river and threatening to reach the Great Lakes.  Just last year, Alberta had its largest oil spill in 36 years as an oil pipeline operated by Plains Midstream Canada spilled 4.5 million litres into a wetland roughly 100 km from the peace river.  BC is also well aware of the dangers of oil pipelines on rivers. The Pembina Pipeline Corporation spilled more than one million litres of crude oil into the Pine River in northeastern BC back in 2000, causing serious ongoing contamination downstream and costing tens of millions in cleanup efforts. None of these rivers have been restored to a healthy or natural state. The damage from these spills will endure for generations.

The statistical likelihood of the Northern Gateway pipeline spilling into sensitive BC waterways is high. As the above examples illustrate, oil pipeline spills are shockingly common. Between 1999 and 2008 Enbridge has had 610 oil spills from its pipelines.  Over the past 20 years, pipelines in the U.S. have spilled a volume of oil 37 times more than was spilled by leaking tankers and barges combined. Modern technology has done little to improve that track record.

In its very first year of operation in 2011, the original Keystone XL pipeline section in the U.S. spilled oil an astonishing 12 times. By Enbridge’s own estimates, the Northern Gateway pipeline would spill roughly 94,000 litres of heavy oil or condensate every single year.

Furthermore, the remoteness of the Northern Gateway route means that a leak might go undetected until it is too late, perhaps only once oil is discovered by communities far downstream as they test their drinking water.  

Beyond the risk of a spill, just building the pipeline will have huge impacts on BC’s sensitive waterways. Many river and streams will be disturbed by construction sweeping sediment into the water, suffocating aquatic animals and plants downstream. The terrain the pipeline would cross is also remote, challenging and faces the risk of wildfire, avalanche, landslides, and flooding further upping the likelihood of problems.  

For waterways across Alberta and BC and the communities that depend on them, the Northern Gateway pipeline is the next spill waiting to happen.

Adam Scott