B.C. oil spill could cost $1.2B: report
Major release would slam economy of Vancouver area, UBC team finds
Vancouver’s economy could suffer a $1.2-billion blow in case of a major oil spill caused by Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, concludes a new report released by the city.
The report, by the University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Economics Research Unit, examined the potential economic costs of a 16-million litre spill in Burrard Inlet.
Researchers looked at the performance of five ocean-dependent activities that are closely linked to the marine environment, including commercial fishing, port activities, inner harbour transportation, tourism and recreation.
The report found that these activities directly employ four per cent of the city’s population and contribute more than $3 billion to Vancouver’s economy every year.
“Ocean-dependent economic activities in Vancouver encompass only a portion of the local economy that could experience losses from a hydrocarbon spill in the Burrard Inlet. Still, the potential impacts of an oil spill run into hundreds of million dollars,” the report said.
The City of Vancouver is publishing a series of reports critical of the Trans Mountain expansion leading up to its submission next week to the National Energy Board, which is reviewing the project.
Kinder Morgan hopes to triple its bitumen-carrying capacity to 890,000 barrels a day by laying almost 1,000 kilometres of new pipe near the existing pipeline that runs from Alberta to Burnaby, B.C.
The expansion would increase the number of oil tankers in Burrard Inlet to 34 per month from five, according to the city.
Kinder Morgan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report, commissioned by the city and released Friday, analyzed two spill scenarios in Burrard Inlet — in May and in October.
It found the economy could suffer more than double the economic losses in spring during peak tourist season
A spill in May could cause total losses ranging from $380 million to $1.23 billion, without counting the cost of recovery and cleanup, it concluded.
Ocean-dependent economic activities ... could experience losses from a hydrocarbon spill in the Burrard Inlet.