Oil Spill in BC Could Overwhelm Province

Officials in B.C. have said that documents show the province lacks the ability to manage oil spills from current and future expanded oil traffic.

According to the Vancouver Sun, factors such as Ottawa dealing with coastal oil spills from Quebec, an inadequate staff at the Ministry of Environment and insufficient technology to clean oil spills properly mean that even a moderate spill could overwhelm the province’s ability to respond.

Documents added that sensitive habitats, local economies like fisheries and First Nations along pipeline routes could be affected.  

Clean-up delays due to weather conditions and remoteness of pipeline routes in B.C. could lead to broader contamination of water, land and wildlife. 

Documents also estimate that with 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day flowing through pipelines, an hour-long spill could lead to 21,000 barrels spilling into B.C.’s wilderness.

The Enbridge-proposed Northern Gateway pipeline as well as the expansion of the existing TransMountain pipeline could increase tanker traffic by more than 1,000 trips annually off the Pacific coast.

Flickr Photo by: Seong-Woo Seo

STORY WRITTEN BY: CATLIN SPENCER