Energy East: Pipeline of discord

Yan Chun-Leduc

This summer in Saskatchewan, the company Husky Energy spilled 250,000 litres of crude oil into the North Saskatchewan River, the source of drinking water for nearly 100,000 people. Water now has to be transported to villages and communities by truck. Husky Energy has paid $5 million to Prince Albert, the largest city affected by the spill, to limit the damage. This heavy oil does not float, it flows and spreads over all seabed surfaces. The consequence of this is that only half of the oil spilled into the river has been cleaned, the other half that has sunk is not cleanable and never will be. Oops.

TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline would allow for 1.1 million barrels of the same type of heavy oil per day to travel over a distance of 700 km in Quebec. This distance includes traversing more than 800 rivers, including the St. Lawrence where sixty percent of the Quebec population, or five million people, draw their drinking water. A spill of 250,000 liters of oil there would be catastrophic. But Energy East is an enormous pipeline project, with incomparably larger potential for harm than the spill in the North Saskatchewan River.

RY’s Class Enemy of the Fall: Oily Politicians

From "Class Enemy" series - Rebel Youth Issue 19

There is perhaps no better contemporary example of the confines of democracy under capitalism as demonstrated by the current “debate” over the tar sands and pipelines in Canada. Climate change is a massive crisis that has started to effect people around the world. Scientists are unanimous in proclaiming that greenhouse gas emissions need to be immediately slashed if we are to avoid total devastation to the environment and to people. Why is it then that the major party leaders are unanimous in denying that Canada needs to stop developing the tar sands and the pipeline infrastructure designed to expand this particularly destructive extraction method? Let’s take a quick look at the denial being promoted by Steve, Tommy and Justin:

"Line 9! Shut it down!"

P. Millionaire,
Rebel Youth Magazine

The movement against tar sands pipelines has been growing over the last year. Indigenous communities and activists in British Colombia have so far successfully blocked the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline that proposed to run from the Alberta tar sands to the BC coast.

Indigenous people, workers, and community members in Ontario and Québec are also concerned with Enbridge’s proposal to reverse the flow of line 9 and send tar sands bitumen from Sarnia all the way to Montréal.

On Saturday October 20, activists against the reversal of line 9 protested in Toronto at 12 pm outside the metro Toronto Convention Center. The protest was set to occur during Enbridge’s hearing about line 9 with the National Energy Board (NEB), but the meeting was postponed.

The day before, on October 19, activists at the hearing burst into song, chants, and played drums in order to disrupt the meeting. The noisy protest was so powerful that members of the NEB fled the hearings. Activists at the protest against line 9 expressed their belief that the hearings had been postponed because of the work of the movement against the reversal of Line 9.

“Enbridge is afraid of us,” said Vanessa Gray, one of the first speakers at the rally.

Activists block construction at controversial Enbridge Line 9 pumping station

Reprinted from the Media co-op

Contact: Sarah Allen, (289)244-8651, hamiltonline9@hushmail.com,
Action Website: http://swampline9.tumblr.com/
Group Website: http://hamiltonline9.wordpress.com/
Twitter: #SwampLine9 #NoLine9 #TarSands

(Hamilton, ON) Earlier today, a group of individuals concerned about Enbridge’s pipeline expansion project stopped construction at the North Westover pumping station in Flamborough. Line 9B is an existing pipeline that currently runs east to west, however Enbridge has applied to reverse the direction of the pipeline in order to ship tar sands oil from Alberta to the East Coast. The North Westover pumping station needs to undergo construction in order for the reversal to take place.

Early this morning, approximately 60 people walked onto the North Westover site, interrupting construction but allowing workers to close and lock the facility before leaving. The protesters insist that their intention is not to damage any equipment or the pipeline, but they are adamant that construction on this project must stop. They say they intend to stay until the Line 9 expansion project is cancelled.

In addition to major environmental concerns, protesters have identified that Enbridge's lack of consultation with Indigenous nations and other impacted communities has driven them to take a stand against the construction.

“Line 9 is going through our territory, and yet Enbridge hasn't consulted with us or talked to us at all," says Missy Elliot of Six Nations.

“The construction at Westover and along Line 9B is happening as if Line 9B has already been approved. It hasn’t -- in fact public hearings are scheduled for later in August,” says Sarah Allen, one of the group’s media liaisons at the pumping station protest. “What’s worse is that the admissions criteria to be part of these hearings were impossible to meet, shutting out most community voices.”

Activists point out that approximately ninety percent of all pipeline spills happen near terminals and pumping stations, which puts Hamilton at significant risk.

“These decisions have been made with a mind for profit -- not safety, sustainability or the environment. How many lives must be put at risk so that a few people can get richer?” asks spokesperson Elysia Petrone.

“What's best for the land is what's best for our people. We have to protect the land -- this isn't just a side project for us -- we have to protect our future. It's our responsibility." Elliot insists.

Line 9 was designed to carry light sweet crude but Enbridge intends to ship diluted bitumen (Dilbit) through the pipes.

“Dilbit is a product with the consistency of peanut butter mixed with sand, which is then mixed with carcinogens and other poisons, and then pumped through pipelines with added pressure,” activist Elysia Petrone clarifies. “As a result, it is absolutely more corrosive and likely to spill – especially when it’s being put through antiquated pipes not designed to carry the product.”

Line 9 is nearly 40 years old; it is the same age and construction as the pipeline that spilled diluted bitumen two years ago in Kalamazoo, MI. The old pipes are only a quarter of an inch thick, at most, whereas newer guidelines require pipes to be at least three-quarters of an inch thick.

The cleanup for the Michigan spill is still ongoing.

Activists insist that the current public hearing process that Enbridge is ignoring is already stacked. Under the new Economic Action Plan Act, the federal government recently granted themselves the authority to override National Energy Board decisions on pipeline projects. They also removed the requirement that changes to existing pipeline infrastructure be subject to environmental assessments, even if they are undergoing significant changes like those happening for the proposed Line 9.

“Our point is simple: this project is dangerous. It presents outrageous risks to our global environment, to our local ecosystems, and to our individual health. It disregards the health of Indigenous communities and restricts their input, putting their culture and very survival at risk,” Trish Mills argues. “We don’t want this pipeline, and we don’t want the expansion of the Tar Sands. We’ve decided to speak out – for ourselves and for the people who aren’t even aware of the risks yet. That’s why we’re here today, and that's why we have stopped construction.”