Like a great number of British Columbians, Powell River region resident Christine Hollmann is upset over the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project and will be speaking at a public inquiry on the issue.
Hollmann, who is the executive director of Terracentric Coastal Adventures based out of Lund, became involved by signing up with the Dogwood Initiative, an environmental group based out of Victoria. Her involvement there has now led to an opportunity for a 10-minute presentation in Courtenay at one of numerous public hearings that are being held to hear concerns from the public over the project.
Enbridge Inc.’s proposed pipeline would transport crude oil 1,177 kilometres from the oil sands in Alberta to Kitimat on the coast of BC. In Kitimat the oil would be loaded onto supertankers and shipped internationally. The projected cost of the project is $5.5 billion.
Proponents of the project, which includes the federal government, champion the economic potential of the pipeline. They say the construction of the pipeline will create hundreds of jobs and that the increased ability to sell oil to countries across the Pacific Ocean will pump money into the national economy.
Critics of the project object to the huge environmental threat that the project poses. The route for the supertankers to load up in Kitimat is treacherous and those concerned speculate that it is not a matter of if but when a spill will occur that could have devastating effects on the coast. Enbridge has stated that new technologies and high standards of safety make the risk small, but by citing such examples as the sinking of BC Ferries’ vessel Queen of the North and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, critics say any risk is too great.
Public hearings on the topic began in early January 2012. They are being led by a joint review panel featuring representatives from Canada’s National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. In total 22 communities in Alberta and BC will be visited and heard from.
Hollmann said she’s not exactly sure what she is going to say yet, or when the hearing will be, but that she would like to talk about the potential economic impact of a spill, especially for people like her who work in outdoor tourism, and her general environmental concerns. She is hoping to involve other people or organizations in the Powell River area, perhaps by gathering letters or a petition, in order to get across a general viewpoint from the area.
Although sympathetic to the need for using natural resources, Hollmann believes the scope and potential threat of this project is unjustifiable. She said that should a spill ever happen it would devastate the coast of the province and upset the unique and vibrant coastal-dependent ecosystem.
“From the type of oil, from where it’s going through, from its potential impact along the communities and along the coast here, it’s not sustainable,” said Hollmann. “I don’t want it to be something where I feel I’m going to have to rush up there with my child to show him that before it’s destroyed. I want that to be there for a long time.”
