Today, the National Energy Board (NEB) approved an extremely risky project which will threaten the drinking water supply of millions of people. Council of Canadians chapters across Ontario and Quebec have been actively opposing the proposal by Enbridge (a company with a reputation for major pipeline accidents) to reverse the direction of Line 9 from Sarnia to Montreal and to increase the capacity of this 40-year-old pipeline by 25%- from 240,000 barrels per day to 300,000 per day.
A report from “Niagara at Large” states:
Welland, Ontaro. The Council of Canadians South Niagara Chapter condemns the National Energy Board (NEB) today for approving Enbridge’s Line 9 proposal to ship diluted bitumen in their forty-year-old pipeline between Sarnia and Montreal and it urges Premier Kathleen Wynne to prevent the controversial project from going forward.
“Pipeline safety expert Richard Kuprewicz testified to the NEB that Line 9 has a high risk of rupture if the project goes ahead” says Chapter spokesperson, Fiona McMurran. “Line 9 passes though hundreds of communities and rivers that flow right into the Great Lakes and Enbridge still hasn’t finished cleaning up after their last massive diluted bitumen spill in the Kalamazoo River four years ago. How can the NEB allow an accident prone company to pump some of the dirtiest oil on the planet through an ancient pipeline across the drinking water supply of millions of people?” says McMurran. “The NEB is clearly just a rubber stamp for big oil. It has ignored the concerns of participants in the hearings, as well as documented evidence of Enbridge’s inadequate oversight of its pipeline. It is the absolute duty of the province to protect our drinking water. Premier Wynne must step in to prevent a catastrophe.”
None of the 30 conditions the NEB set on Line 9 will make its operation safer. Essentially, they direct Enbridge to obey regulations and to report on how the company intends to obey regulations. This is a disappointing decision even from a regulatory body like the NEB which Prime Minister Harper has stuffed with appointees from the energy industry.
Click here to see what pipeline safety expert Richard Kuprewicz testified to the NEB
Click here for a report on other evidence presented to the NEB against the Line 9 proposal
Toronto Star article on unreported Line 9 spills
Thunder Bay Chapter intervenes on Line 9 lawsuit
