Industry advised government prior to pipeline review by Drew A. Penner, December 18, 2012, Mountainview Gazette
Alberta’s Energy Minister Ken Hughes is talking tough after Greenpeace revealed he met with industry leaders as the government began to decide on parameters for a review of the province’s 400,000 kilometres of pipeline. A series of emails uncovered by the environmental organization through a freedom of information request show the government held an “informal conversation” with pipeline CEOs July 16 prior to ordering an evaluation. The communication also shows industry officials advised the government to get the Energy Resources Conservation Board to handle an inquiry. “The reason I called the industry together in the summer was to convey to them a sense of urgency and a sense of deep commitment on behalf of the province of Alberta,” Hughes told the Gazette. “I made it absolutely clear to the pipeline industry that if there’s a spill by any player in this province, any pipeline operator, that they’re responsible.” On June 20, the government announced the ERCB would be getting a third-party company to complete a review of pipeline safety and management, water crossings, and spill response – a contract ultimately won by Calgary-based Group 10 Engineering. But Keith Stewart, the Greenpeace energy campaigner who published the documents, says the urgency from the government had more to do with remedying a damaged public image of the province’s energy in the wake of high-profile oil spills such as the June 7, 2012 Plains Midstream Canada spill that flowed upwards of 500,000 litres of light crude oil into the Red Deer River system. “The government was clearly responding to public pressure and public concern,” said Stewart, noting the emails correspondence took place right after the U.S. pipeline regulator released a report that was highly critical of Enbridge’s response to a July 25, 2010 spill near Marshall, Mich., which released more than three million litres of oil in and around the Kalamazoo River. “Here you’ve had three major spills in the space of a month, you’ve had a damning report from the U.S. pipeline regulatory agency of Enbridge’s Edmonton-based control room’s response to the spill in Michigan,” he said, “and yet you have the minister writing to the pipeline CEOs saying, ‘As you know, the industry operates under world-leading regulatory regime, and has a strong and improving safety record. Some recent incidents and ongoing media attention about energy and environmental issues have given us all the opportunity to reflect not just on how we ensure safety, but also on how we communicate our safety commitment’. “I read that as the minister saying to the CEOs, ‘Look, we have public relations problem here and we need to do some damage control’.”
…
Greenpeace says the wording used to initiate the pipeline review won’t allow the contractor to uncover any real pipeline safety issues on the ground, contending the scope is too focused on standards as written on paper. The request for proposal states the purpose of the assessment is “to determine if the regulatory requirements and best practices remain relevant and accurately reflect the risk profile of ERCB-regulated pipelines and to identify areas for improvement,” and to compare the province to other jurisdictions. [Emphasis added]
-
Recent Posts
- Genocide-Complicit Madness May 27 to June 21, 2024 Suffield National Wildlife Area: DND to host “Sandbox” party for Israeli arms companies (Twenty20 Insight Inc, Sentrycs, etc.) to test “Smart Shooter” used in West Bank remote control turrets and on rifle scopes in Gaza to kill Palestinian kids. Companies will be given continual interaction with CAF experts, US Gov’t Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate, RCMP (to share what they use against Canadian Indigenous Water Protectors?), science experts (WTF!), and *cash prizes* up to $1 million and “other funding!” Who the hell pays for this? Canadian taxpayers? April 23, 2024
- Pedro Arrojo Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights to water, has grave concerns about Canada’s “judicial treatment, criminalization” of Indigenous water protectors, violating their rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression. The militarized RCMP C-IRG raids on Wet’suwet’en territory was a “shocking reaction, so violent.” Are officials, judges, politicians, police and energy regulators listening? I doubt it, they’re rich, mostly white and don’t care about water or lives of others. April 23, 2024
- Frac’ers are psychopathic sadists too, with their abusive invasive illegal noise (and endless leaks and intentional dumping of toxic waste and poisoning water and communities) April 23, 2024
- Columbia students protesting Israel’s butchery of Palestinians vs antisemitism lies by The New York Times. Who knew The Times is a Zionist rag serving freedom of expression hating, kid-killing terrorist Bibi Netanyahu? Who knew Toronto Public Library are racist genocide enablers too, bending over for lying racist “human rights” Zionists, B’nai Brith (in essence, Bibi’s Stasi in Canada). April 20, 2024
- Toxic humanity: Horrifying new study results for all life, not just humans: Ocean spray emits more PFAS than industrial polluters. PFAS, used in frac’ing, are forever chemicals (do not break down) linked to cancer, kidney disease, birth defects, decreased immunity, liver problems and other serious diseases. April 19, 2024
- Vancouver BC: Frack Free BC, Stop Fracking Eby, Stop LNG, Climate Strike Rally at Premier David Eby’s Office April 19, 2024
- New Reality Show: Hot and Toxic! Full Trailer. April 19, 2024
- Another BDS Victory! Wilfrid Laurier U Faculty Association calls for permanent ceasefire, complete divestment & boycott of institutions, corporations complicit in Israeli war crimes, breaches of international law, human rights violations, etc., condemns scholasticide in Gaza, West Bank & East Jerusalem. Motion passes with huge majority. Which Zionistiche Gestapo judge will kill justice to kill it? April 18, 2024
- Zionistiche Gestapo ‘n B’nai Brith bribing bigot cons MPP Ted Arnott and Doug Ford? Discrimination and racism on steroids: Speaker Arnott pisses on Canada’s charter, bans Palestinian Keffiyehs from Ontario legislature. Yarmulke allowed? “Heaven forbid someone make a political statement in a …. legislature” April 17, 2024
- Humans increasing CO2 is driving increase in worldwide severity and frequency of wildfires; “The best way to decrease wildfires is to mitigate our carbon dioxide emissions. We need more emission control now.” April 17, 2024
- Humanity’s polluted planet creating plastic-brained zombies? April 17, 2024
- Alberta: TC Energy’s Nova Gas Transmission Line explodes, starts out of control wildfire by Edson. But but but, Premier Danielle Smith insists arsonists start wildfires: “Trudeau! Trudeau!” April 16, 2024
- Sulfolane, health-harming sour gas sweetener, used *intentionally* for decades by oil and gas industry, found in groundwater in “large contaminant plumes across Canada, specifically in Alberta.” Companies *intentionally* dumped it into aquifers with families and cattle poisoned, bullied and *intentionally* gagged by lawyers years ago. Now researchers say it’s emerging and accidental. FFS. April 16, 2024
- USA finally regulates deadly Silica Dust; long-awaited rule will limit worker exposure, which can lead to incurable, debilitating lung disease. *But* rule is delayed 1 year for coal, 2 years for metal/nonmetal miners. (Will oil and gas be exempt?) April 16, 2024
- Alberta under fascist Danielle Smith and her anti-science, anti-education, anti-health, anti-freedom, misogynistic TBA evangelicals & oil, frac and gas. April 14, 2024