Thicker pipes and more valves may make Enbridge's Northern Gateway project safer, but it's not enough to satisfy some of the project's local detractors.
Enbridge announced Friday that it will increase the thickness of pipes, add more remotely operated valves that can shut off the line in the case of a spill and staff remote pumping locations 24/7 on the proposed pipeline, which would connect Alberta's oilsands with the port in Kitimat. The changes were part of a submission the energy giant made to the federal government's joint review panel.
However, UNBC environmental studies professor Annie Booth said all the added safety measures can't make up for the possibility of human error.
"You still have the opposable thumb ape trying to make sense of incredibility complex technology," she said. "No amount of training is going to make up for the fact people get careless, people were drunk the night before or people had a fight with their significant other."
Booth pointed to a 2010 spill on an Enbridge pipeline in Michigan, which flooded 20,000 barrels of oil into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River. The company was chastised earlier this month by the US agency that investigated the accident for its slow response to stopping the flow of oil.
The Northern Gateway pipeline has faced stiff opposition from individuals and community groups during joint review panel hearings along the proposed route. Enbridge said by increasing the thickness of the pipe by an average of 10 per cent -- and by as much as 20 per cent in some areas -- will make it the safest in the world.
Enbridge executive vice-president Janet Holder said the changes prove the company is receptive to concerns.
"This truly is in response to what we've been hearing along right of way through our (community advisory boards)," she said on a conference call. "Discussions that we've had or I've personally had with mayors along the right of way and councillors and sitting in the hearings listening to individuals give their 10-minute statements to the (joint review panel). It really is our consultative process that brought these enhancements forward."
Enbridge estimates the changes will cost between $400 million to $500 million, which could push the price tag for the project to $6 billion.
Provincial NDP leader Adrian Dix, a vocal pipeline opponent, said the revised plan doesn't change the fundamentals of the project and that Enbridge shouldn't have waited this long to make safety improvements.
"I want to be fair, I appreciate the company is doing its best, but if these measures were available to it, why weren't they in the initial application," he said during a visit Friday to Prince George.
Proponents of the pipeline, including the federal government, point to the increased prices Canadian energy companies will be able to get by selling their oil to Asian markets. The project will also create many jobs during the construction phase and some permanent positions.
In addition to the concerns about the spill, pipeline opponents cite the relative lack of financial benefit for B.C., the risk of shipping the oil through Kitimat and the wisdom of shipping raw resources out of the country as reasons they want to see the pipeline modified or eliminated.
One overarching concern echoed by local filmmaker Steph St. Laurent is the credibility Enbridge has on living up to its safety commitments.
"I think the time has passed for Enbridge to alleviate anyone's concerns about environmental problems," he said.
