WHEREAS on December 16, 2013, Kinder Morgan submitted an application to the National Energy Board NEB for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project to increase the transportation of diluted bitumen via pipeline through British Columbian communities, across more than 700 streams and water-crossings in 12 BC watersheds; AND WHEREAS diluted bitumen has been shown to submerge andor sink when spilled into freshwater environments, resulting in prolonged and costly response operations with limited success and negative impacts to local ecosystems, public and environmental health, local economies, and cultural and recreational resources; AND WHEREAS, as per Kinder Morgans response on July 11, 2014 to intervenors in the NEB hearing, Trans Mountain maintains that in the event of a diluted bitumen spill sunken or submerged oil would be treated as a post-emergency response function and declined to provide any specific information about how response plans or equipment stockpiling for the project would address submerged or sunken diluted bitumen, thereby raising serious concerns about the capacity to respond to the risk currently posed to local communities and watersheds by the existing Trans Mountain pipeline: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that, for the protection of communities and ecosystems reliant on the health of watersheds across BC, the Union of BC Municipalities call on the National Energy Board to compel Trans Mountain and all other pipeline operators shipping diluted bitumen, to provide site specific consequence analyses and response plans and tactics for submerged and sunken oil to be subject to public review and approval by impacted communities; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UBCM call on the provincial government to conduct a full assessment of the response plans, tactics, equipment and capacity currently available within the Province of BC to respond to sunken or submerged oil.
Ministry of Environment The Province of British Columbia shares the City of Vancouvers concern about the potential impacts of diluted bitumen and other oil products on BCs communities and watersheds. BCs five conditions for heavy oil pipelines include requirements for world class spill response in both the marine and terrestrial setting. The Province is actively scrutinizing the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Projects application to the National Energy Board as an intervenor in the hearing and continues to press the company for more detailed information about their spill response plans and capacity. The Ministry of Environment also recently conducted a public consultation on an intentions paper outlining a proposed strengthened spill response regime to ensure all spills receive a quick and effective response.
Minister of Natural Resources These are factors that the Board considers as it undertakes a regulatory review and environmental assessment for projects such as the proposed Trans Mountain expansion. Indeed, the issues being considered by the Board include the suitability of the pipeline design, the potential environmental effects of the project, and contingency planning for spills during pipeline operation in determining whether proposed projects are in the public interest. Again, the federal government will only approve proposed pipelines if proven safe for the environment and the public.