B.C. gives Ottawa spill response wish list
‘World-leading’ oil-spill response list includes vessels, bases and training
B.C. is asking the federal government for millions in new ocean spill-response vessels, bases, training and tracking systems as a condition of the province’s support for the Kinder Morgan oil-pipeline expansion.
The 11-item list was sent to Ottawa as recently as May, and defines what B.C. would accept as a “world-leading” response regime for an ocean oil spill. That includes three new salvage rescue tugs, a fully functional coast guard station in Prince Rupert, funding for a maritime training centre at the B.C. Institute of Technology, updated minimum-response standards for spills and a state-ofthe-art system to track oil tankers and other ships along the coast and alert key players if a disaster occurs.
Premier Christy Clark has said that the federal government, which is responsible for ocean-spill response, must create such a system to satisfy one her government’s five conditions for supporting any oil-pipeline project through the province.
Ottawa is expected to announce its response as early as Monday, after months of behind-the-scenes talks with B.C. officials.
Improvements to marine response and environmental protection regimes could provide both governments some level of political cover from critics worried about an environmental disaster caused by increased oil-tanker traffic off the West Coast should Prime Minister Justin Trudeau choose to approve the Kinder Morgan project.
“The federal government’s current marine-response capacity is inadequate for existing levels of marine traffic, never mind factoring in potential pipeline expansion,” B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak said in a statement.
Officials in Polak’s ministry said the three additional salvage tugs would cost up to $50 million each, but if stationed properly along the coast, would enable a tug to get to an oil tanker that has run aground within three hours in the worst weather conditions.
No total price tag was provided for the entire list, though a new Prince Rupert coast guard station would be estimated at $6 million, a new marine training simulator at BCIT at $2 million, and operating costs for new ships, facilities and other additions could be millions of dollars more a year.
Clark has repeatedly blasted her federal counterparts for what she has called cheating the West Coast out of proper maritime resources. Her criticism increased after the 2015 fuel spill from the MV Marathassa into English Bay and last month’s diesel-fuel spill from the Nathan E. Stewart tugboat near Bella Bella.
B.C. is also calling on Ottawa to “provide clarification” on a promised ban on crude-oil tanker traffic off the North Coast, including what kind of vessels and shipping lanes would be affected.
B.C.’s 11-item list builds upon a 2013 Nuka Research report that the province commissioned to assess the current state of marine spill preparedness and response capabilities, and a followup report two years later that identified ways to reach world-leading practices.
“These studies lay the foundation for building a world-leading regime for marine spills which is the responsibility of the federal government; we have used it in our discussions with them as we work together on next steps,” Polak said.
The Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion proposal would allow the company to triple the amount of Alberta crude oil it can ship out of its Burnaby port facility to 890,000 barrels a day, which would increase the amount of oil-tanker traffic in B.C.’s coastal waters.
The TransMountain pipeline was approved by the National Energy Board in May with 157 conditions. Trudeau’s cabinet has until Dec. 19 to make a final approval decision.
B.C.’s other five conditions include a “fair share” of economic benefit for B.C.; a world-leading spill response on land (which B.C. is largely responsible for); and opportunities for First Nations consultation and benefits.