Province looking at polluter-pay plan
The provincial government will launch consultations into a polluter-pay system to deal with the possibility of spills of hazardous materials including from the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
Environment Minister Terry Lake announced the framework for the plan Wednesday, which he said will eventually lead to a world-class land-based spill response system in the province.
"Our goal is to develop a policy that will have the right mix of prevention, planning, response and recovery," Lake said at a news conference in Vancouver.
Having industry shoulder the load for the cost of a cleanup fits in with the philosophy of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, according to its president and CEO Brenda Kenny.
"The pipeline stands behind the view that we will make it right," she said. "We always have, we always will. We'll hold ourselves accountable to that and we expect governments to hold ourselves accountable to that as well."
Lake said the weak link in the province's current plan is response times in remote areas. It will be up to government and industry to find a way around that challenge.
The world class spill response system is one of the five conditions the government has put forward before approving any new heavy oil pipelines, including the Northern Gateway project, which aims to ship oilsands products from Alberta to Kitimat for export. However, Lake said starting these consultations isn't aimed at making it easier for Northern Gateway to go forward.
"This isn't about pushing any pipeline through," Lake said. "This is about the movement of hazardous goods through British Columbia, so if you've got oil being moved on rail cars they could have an accident and we need to have a proper response to ensure a clean up is thorough and complete and timely."
Northern Gateway spokesman Paul Stanway said his company has no problems with the framework as it was announced Wednesday, but said the company will continue to examine the document.
"We view this as a very positive development," he said. "At first blush it certainly looks like an attempt by the B.C. government to move this debate forward."
ForestEthics Advocacy spokesman Jolan Bailey said having a spill response plan in place won't protect the environment and called on the province to block the Northern Gateway project.
"When we're dealing with companies with a history of ignoring the rules, stronger regulations are not the solution," he said. "If Christy Clark is serious about protecting B.C.'s wild salmon watersheds from oil spills she would take a clear position against Enbridge's tanker project."
The process includes an online public consultation process until Feb. 15 and the province and industry groups plan to co-host a symposium on spill response in March. Lake said there will be opportunities for communities, First Nations, individuals and environmental groups to make suggestions about how the final plan should look.
Discussions with industry will begin early in 2013 and will focus on the requirements for trained staff, access to equipment, wildlife response, waste manager and an impact assessment.
The policy won't be ready in time for the provincial election in May, but Lake said he hopes whatever party wins they will continue to develop the plan.
"To design a regime that is world leading and comprehensive, it's going to take some time," Lake said. "I envision it will take the better part of a year."
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