Pipeline promises money in case of spill
Northern Gateway has pledged to compensate fishers and workers in related industries if a spill along its proposed pipeline were to impact salmon stocks.
"We're committed to ensuring anyone who has suffered any type of loss will be compensated," Enbridge director of environment, lands and rights-of-way said under cross-examination Friday at National Energy Board (NEB) hearings at the Ramada.
United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union representative and Prince Rupert city councillor Joy Thorkelson wanted to know how the scope of such compensation programs and just how they would work. Underhill said as long as the business losses were "directly attributable" to Northern Gateway's operations, they would be eligible for financial compensation.
The current phase of the NEB allows interveners to test the evidence presented by Northern Gateway for its plan to build a pipeline from Alberta's oil sands to Kitimat so that Canadian diluted bitumen can be shipped to Asian markets.
Thorkelson sought and was granted assurances that compensation wouldn't be limited to those who actually catch the fish, but also shore workers. She also wanted to know if the company would commit to setting up a formula for compensation with fisheries groups as a condition of approval of the pipeline, but Underhill said those types of discussions would come after any approval granted by the NEB.
"We've committed to having a fisheries liaison group established and up and running just after project approval," Underhill said.
The industry-funded fisheries liaison committee which Northern Gateway is proposing would bring together company representatives, government officials, First Nations groups and those involved in fisheries along the proposed route.
Having such a committee isn't a normal regulatory requirement, but Enbridge spokesman Todd Nogier said the company feels its necessary for the Northern Gateway project.
"We would see that this would have tremendous benefit because it would be a collaborative effort bringing groups together to identify potential conflicts and to identify means through which those conflicts could be resolved," he said.
Among the possible conflicts the committee will seek to address is how compensation claims will be handled in the event of a spill or any disruption to fisheries as a result of pipeline operations.
The company has also committed to fund a pipeline environmental effects monitoring program, which Nogier said will look at things like how the clearing of the right of way could impact big game animals.
"We want to make sure that we understand what ongoing effects there could be or might be," Nogier said, adding that if negative effects are found there will be a system in place to find solutions. "Decisions would be taken collaboratively with government bodies."
In other cross-examination on Friday, consultant Jeffrey Short asked questions on behalf of the union about the densities of various types of diluted bitumen which could be carried in the Northern Gateway pipeline. He was concerned that some of the types of dilbit could sink with weathering alone, but Northern Gateway experts were unwilling to comment too deeply on the figures presented since the evidence wasn't produced by the company.
Northern Gateway attorney Dennis Langen also said it was unfair that Short, who has provided expert evidence to the panel, didn't disclose that prior to asking his questions.
Smithers resident Josette Wier phoned in and asked questions about pipeline thickness, spill response and possible human health effects. She also wondered how former Enbridge CEO Pat Daniels was able to secure a $1.3 million bonus, despite the company policy which punishes all employees financially in the event of a spill.
"At Enbridge we have a scorecard that sets metrics we need to achieve and when we don't meet those metrics, it impacts everyone's compensation," Underhill said. "[Daniels'] compensation is affected by the scorecard as well as all employees at Enbridge."
Daniels retired as the company's president and CEO in September.
Hugh Kerr, a retired University of Waterloo engineering professor, asked technical questions about different types of welding tactics, corrosion rates and how well the proposed tank station in Kitimat could withstand earthquakes at cold temperatures.
The JRP will sit for a half-day on Saturday, with the Kitimat Valley Naturalists leading things off, followed by questions from the Joint Review Panel (JRP) lawyers and the JRP members themselves. The third Northern Gateway witness panel, which focuses on environmental and socio-ecnomic impacts of the pipeline, is expected to be seated either at the end of Saturday's session or early on Monday.