Spill danger remains, says first nations

Switching the end point of the $ 5.5- billion Northern Gateway pipeline to Prince Rupert will not win support among first nations already opposed to the pipeline, says Coastal First Nations executive director Art Sterritt.

Enbridge has said it may consider changing the end point of its controversial pipeline to Prince Rupert from Kitimat.

“A spill outside of Prince Rupert would be just as damaging as it would be outside of Hartley Bay [ at the entrance of Douglas Channel to Kitimat],” Sterritt said Sunday.

Sterritt said the pipeline route to Prince Rupert along the Skeena River is treacherous, prone to rock slides and avalanches.

He added that Enbridge’s idea of changing the route won’t get support from the communities of Prince Rupert, nearby Port Edward and others on Haida Gwaii.

The northwest B. C. communities passed a resolution Friday at the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District to oppose the pipeline and tanker traffic.

Earlier last week, the City of Terrace passed a resolution 5- 2 opposing the project.

Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel has said he still believes Kitimat, with its outstanding harbour, is the best terminus for the pipeline, but that he is open to examining a change to Prince Rupert.

He cautioned that the route to Prince Rupert has a very narrow right- of- way along an 80- kilometre stretch of the Skeena River in northern B. C.

However, the proposed use of Kitimat — which requires bringing in ships along the 90- kilometre Douglas Channel — has come under fire from first nations, environmental groups and some communities that fear a tanker spill would devastate the marine environment.

Prince Rupert, located in a sheltered harbour, is about 15 kilometres from the open ocean.

“Recently, I have indicated that we will re- examine [ the route] to see whether there is another way to get to Prince Rupert, but all of our engineering and environmental studies continue to point in the direction of Kitimat being the best alternative,” Daniel told analysts in a conference call Friday to discuss the company’s $ 355- million fourth- quarter earnings.

“We want to make sure that we have thoroughly evaluated any and all routing opportunities,” he said.

The project calls for large tankers to be loaded with oil at Kitimat and shipped to Asia to open new markets for crude from the northern Alberta oilsands.