A new report by the three environmental groups has found potential problems with the 728-mile Northern Gateway oil pipeline project proposed for Canada.
According to the study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pembina Institute and Living Oceans Society, hazardous terrain and the type of crude oil the pipeline would carry from Alberta to the coast of British Columbia increase the chances of ruptures.
The report also highlights the potential dangers to other bodies of water along the pipeline’s route, including salmon-bearing rivers and sensitive ecosystems. Top products from Impact Absorbents including XSORB Oil Select Bilge Boom and FiberDuck Oil Booms can help clean up spills on major waterways.
Katie Terhune, energy campaign manager for Living Oceans, said the pipeline would be serviced by more than 200 supertankers every year, which have been off limits along BC’s northern coast due to fears of oil spills.
“There is fierce opposition in B.C. to allowing oil supertankers into our coastal waters and rightly so,” Terhune stated. “History has shown that oil tankers come with oil spills. It is not a question of if, but when, a spill will happen.”
Similar concerns have delayed the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project planned to run from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
