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Editorial: Pathways

When it comes to pipelines, a little innovation could go a long way

The way things are going it seems there’s going to be as many pipelines crisscrossing the north as there are freeways wheeling through the Los Angeles landscape.

At last count, there are four pipelines planned to feed proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Kitimat and in Prince Rupert and one oil pipeline.

Mind you, one of the LNG plant plans may be in trouble because the federal government has turned down a takeover bid of a Canadian company by one owned by the Malaysian government and the Enbridge Northern Gateway project is in doubt.

And while not every one of the others is guaranteed, considerable amounts of money will be spent on  environmental reviews which are expensive, time-consuming and, in this circumstance, perhaps a duplication of information and effort.

Former Haisla chief councillor Steve Wilson years ago advocated for the creation of an energy corridor. In effect, it’s a pathway which has been granted environmental, First Nations, socio-economic etc., clearances for pipeline, transmission lines and the like.

It’s always risky to condense complex proposals, but think of Mr. Wilson’s concept as you would a highway. Once constructed, it can be used for multiple reasons. They say necessity is the mother of inventions. Judging from what might happen here, innovation as well as invention should top the to-do list.