With $300 billion projected for Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) over the next 30 years, the Northern Gateway Pipeline is Canada’s brightest opportunity and biggest gamble for oil export to energy-hungry countries in Asia.
Of course there are considerable environmental concerns over the pipeline’s construction. The Northern Gateway pipeline intends to cross one of the world’s largest mountain ranges where bitumen would then be transfered into ocean-tankers, bound for Asian refineries, at Kitimat on the British Columbia coast.
Enbridge has stated that it will take 12 to 15 months to review the conditions set before them, which include a number of land and marine safety provisions. The stakes to ensure the safety of the pipeline are certainly high; Enbridge’s ensures their committment to world-class safety and environmental standards for the project even as environmentally-concerned groups remain vehemently opposed to the project. Upon completion, the Northern Gateway Pipeline would be a milestone, enabling Canada to diversify its crude oil market while also achieving long-sought after full market value pricing. Considering all that is at stake, the pipeline safety provisions of the project are paramount. Let’s explore these safety provisions in detail below.
Land Safety Provisions
Conditions #57, 58, 59 & Conditions #60, 61, 62 & Condition #194
Pre-construction caribou habitat assessment, Monitoring & Restoration Plan
What is Required?
A detailed caribou habitat assessment, in addition to monitoring & restoration for each caribou range along the pipeline.
Additional Detail Links:
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/condition-57/
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/condition-60/
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/194/
Conditions #110,111
Complimentary Leak Detection
What is Required?
Leak detection descriptions, methods and conclusions of research invested in complimentary leak detection technology; a description of the technologies meant to be implemented must be provided, and why. Also, a timeline for leak detection technology install and implementation.
Additional Detail Links:
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/condition-110/
Condition #124
Secondary Containment at the Kitimat Terminal
What is Required?
A safety precaution for secondary containment at Kitimat. The containment must accommodate six-times the volume of the largest tanker used at the Kitimat Terminal. Additionally, allowances for potential future containment tanks, peak precipitation, and firefighter activity.
Additional Detail Links
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/condition-124/
Conditions #174, 175
Emergency Prepardness and Response Plan for the Pipeline
What is Required?
To verify compliance with a committment to pipeline emergency prepardness and response, including various oil spill response plans.
Additional Detail Links:
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/condition-174/
Condition #176
Emergency Prepardness and Response Plan for the Terminal at Kitimat
What is Required?
To verify compliance with a committment to Kitimat Terminal emergency prepardness and response, including various oil spill response plans.
Additional Detail Links:
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/176/
Condition #206,207
Pipeline Inspections
What is Required?
Pipeline Monitoring & Inspections within specific time-frames. The inspections are to follow several safety precautions, including: in-line caliper inspections, ultrasonic crack detection inspections, corrosion magnetic flux leakage inspections, ultrasonic wall measurement inspections, and above-ground coating surveys.
Additional Detail Links:
http://www.gatewayfacts.ca/jrp-conditions/land/condition-206/
More Information on the Northern Gateway Pipeline
More information on the Land Safety Provisions component of the Northern Gateway Pipeline’s 209 conditions can be found here:
http://gatewaypanel.review-examen.gc.ca/clf-nsi/dcmnt/rcmndtnsrprt/rcmndtnsrprtvlm2ppndx-eng.html