Dear Sir:
Re: Northern Gateway’s terminal review papers regarding the marine section of the proposal.
For anyone who has confidence in the Gateway project and Enbridge’s promises, they should study this section of the proposal. I have agonized through this for many hours.
This section clearly outlines the destruction of the environment at various levels under a variety of scenarios with different sizes of spills, different products, in several different areas.
One scenario with DilBit (diluted bitumen) I quote: “By the end of 15 days approximately 76 per cent has stranded along 240 kilometres of shore line.” Killing many creatures in and above water. Section 13.2.1.1.
Enbridge is relying on the safety aspect of shipping. But certificates can be bought cheaply.
Anything you want. We have no governmental agency with teeth; the coast guard is understaffed, the Minister of Fisheries does not know what she is talking about and takes direct orders from the Prime Minister. They allowed the East Coast fishery to totally collapse and now they want to let the West Coast to be destroyed because a few industries stand to make a lot of money; money mostly exiting Canada.
The other thing they rely on is that a spill can be cleaned up. That is what the fisheries minister believes too.
Well, it cannot for a number of reasons:
* the diluted bitumen will sink to the ocean floor
* weather conditions will rarely allow it
* the distances are great
* there are not enough people up here
* the shoreline is broken up, with very few beaches
* there are very high tides
* steep, often nearly vertical shorelines
* relatively strong tidal currents
* how and where would you house, feed and otherwise support crews
Nowhere in the world is the shipping route as long as it is here, with many tight turns and shallows on the outer section. As to other shipping route dangers, there is possibly one other place, the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of South America and more specifically the passage into the Pacific Ocean. If you are an ardent reader, it is described in James Mitchener’s book Hawaii. One of our sons and family has lived down there for a couple of years. Our grandson was born there. So we had a special interest in the area.
Don’t forget that even Mr. Daniel said he cannot promise there won’t ever be an accident.
Some tanker experts believe there may be one in the first year of operation due to some flaws in the design of double-hulled tankers.
Dieter Wagner
Kitimat, B.C.