The Council of Canadians Hamilton chapter is opposing the Line 10 pipeline expansion.
As noted on the Enbridge website, “Line 10 is a 143-kilometre export pipeline that carries oil from Enbridge’s Westover Terminal in Hamilton, Ontario to West Seneca, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. From there, the oil travels via the Kiantone Pipeline to Warren, Pennsylvania, where it is refined into gasoline, diesel, propane, butane, asphalt and other petroleum products.”
The pipeline basically runs south of the western tip of Lake Superior and north of the eastern tip of Lake Erie.
It has a capacity of about 73,000 barrels per day, but currently operates at about 63,000 bpd. Enbridge now wants to see a larger 20-inch pipeline replace about 35 kilometres of the current 12-inch pipeline that runs through Hamilton. According to the company, the pipeline moves “heavy and light crude oil”, but there are concerns it could move tar sands bitumen.
CBC reports, “Agnes Richard of the local Council of Canadians chapter suggested that Enbridge plans to work on 35 kilometres of the pipeline to escape having to undergo a provincial and federal environmental assessment. ‘The city should ask that the province require an environmental assessment on this 35-kilometre section’, she said.”
Tonight, the Hamilton Spectator notes, “Councillors asked for a staff report on the pipeline proposal before Christmas so the city can submit official comments on the plan before the National Energy Board weighs in.”
Enbridge wants to start construction on the pipeline in 2017.
Further reading
Activists ready to fight Enbridge pipeline expansion through Hamilton (CBC news report, Sept. 9, 2015)
Flamborough Chamber members learn about Enbridge Line 10 replacement project (Flamborough Review news article, Nov. 2, 2015)
City taking a closer look at Enbridge pipeline expansion (CBC news report, Nov. 4, 2015)
Golf course owner wants to keep Enbridge pipeline (Hamilton Spectator news article, Nov. 4, 2015)
