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New report says Energy East Pipeline a disaster in waiting

Energy East: When the pipeline spillsOttawa – The Council of Canadians has released a briefing paper on safety issues regarding the proposed Energy East pipeline project. The brief illustrates what a spill from Energy East would look like, examines leaks and explosions that have occurred on the existing pipeline, and explains how regulations have failed to prevent pipeline leaks and protect Canadians.

“It is not a matter of if Energy East will spill, it is a matter of when, where and how much it will spill,” says Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy and Climate Justice Campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “The bigger the pipeline the bigger the spill, and Energy East would be the biggest on the continent.”

Transporting 1.1 million barrels per day, Energy East would be the largest oil pipeline in North America. The company behind the project, TransCanada Corporation, is seeking approval to convert an up to 40-year-old natural gas pipeline to carry crude oil, including diluted bitumen, from the Alberta tar sands to eastern Ontario, connecting it with new pipeline to New Brunswick.

The vast majority of crude transported is expected to be exported unrefined, from two new ports in Cacouna, Quebec and Saint John, New Brunswick.

“TransCanada has already had two major pipeline ruptures so far this year – one of which sent fireballs 300 metres into the sky over Otterburne, Manitoba in January,” says Harden-Donahue. “We can’t trust this company to pump crude in an ancient pipeline through our communities and across so many critical watersheds. It is a disaster waiting to happen.”

The report is available online: http://canadians.org/too-risky

The Council of Canadians is one of Canada’s leading progressive advocacy organizations with more than 100,000 grassroots supporters and local chapters across the country.

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