“Very low levels” of crude oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, are a threat to the survival of herring and pink salmon that spawn in the region, according to a study released today by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study shows that embryonic salmon and herring […]
Gaby Poirier, BC operations manager for the Rio Tinto Aluminum metals group called it a shining moment as the first ingots from the new modernized potlines were wheeled into the also new Henning Hall at the Kitimat smelter on Tuesday, July 7. Referring to the nearly complete Kitimat Modernization Project (KMP), Poirier said, “It's now […]
The sudden release early Friday, July 18, by the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment about the Kitimat Valley air shed study brings more questions than the answers it provides; some questions are political, some technical. The questions include 1. Why was the study suddenly released after the province said it was “privileged?” 2. Did […]
On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez plowed into Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling 260,000 to 750,000 barrels or 41,000 to 119,000 cubic metres of crude oil. That was 25 years ago. The media loves anniversary stories and the Exxon Valdez look-backs and updates are already ramping up—right in the middle […]
Excerpts from the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel report relating to the Exxon Valdez disaster. Northern Gateway told the Joint Reivew Panel that on a worldwide basis, all data sets show a steady reduction in the number and size of oil spills since the 1970s. This decline has been even more apparent since regulatory changes in […]
Oil spills kill fish. That's well known. Now scientists say they have found out why oil spills kill adult fish. The chemicals in the oil often trigger an irregular heartbeat and cardiac arrest. A joint study by Stanford University and the US National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration have discovered that crude oil interferes with fish […]
The Haisla Nation response to the federal government's request for consultation on the Joint Review Panel report on the Northern Gateway lists what the First Nation sees as flaws in the panel's assessment of the project. (The Haisla filed their first list of flaws in the JRP in a court challenge). In the response, seen […]
Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen says at least two of the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel’s 209 conditions may already be outdated. In a news release January 15, 2013, Cullen said, “The requirement of $950 million in spill insurance was recently called into question as reports surfaced of cleanup costs at the sites of […]
The costs for Enbridge to clean up the 2010 Marshall, Michigan oil spill now far exceeds the maximum estimate that the Joint Review Panel gave for a major spill on the Northern Gateway Pipeline and also exceeds the amount of money the JRP ordered Enbridge to set aside to deal with a spill. Enbridge's cleanup […]
Enbridge has missed the US Environmental Protection Agency's deadline to clean up parts of the Marshall, Michigan bitumen spill by December 31, 2013. Local television news, WOOD-TV says the EPA is now considering “enforcement options.” The EPA had already granted Enbridge a 10 month extension that the company requested in March, 2013, setting the new […]