Salmon Friends Turn Sights on Enbridge
January 16, 2008 – The coalition behind the campaign against fish farms on BC’s North Coast has called for a full public inquiry into the proposed Enbridge pipelines project.
Representatives with Friends of Wild Salmon say that in addition to the serious issues related to the pipelines themselves, the inquiry must also address tanker traffic and the tar sands expansion that will feed the pipeline.
“The assessment process for the pipelines cannot ignore the environmental impacts of what goes on at either end,” said Friends of Wild Salmon Chair Des Nobels. “Coastal residents raised serious concerns about the risk of oil spills on the North Coast, and citizens across Canada are voicing concern about the Alberta tar sands.”
“The joint review panel proposed by the federal government is not equipped to address the serious concerns regarding tar sands expansion and tanker traffic,” added Friends of Wild Salmon steering committee member Gerald Amos. “We believe Skeena residents – and all Canadians – deserve a public inquiry into the full scope of the project.”
The proposed Enbridge project would entail two pipelines. One would carry tar-sands oil some 1170 kilometres from Edmonton to Kitimat, where it would be loaded on tankers for transport to Asian markets. The other would carry a petroleum product called condensate from Kitimat to Alberta where it is used to thin tar-sands oil for pipeline transport.
“Our work on fish farms and coalbed methane has shown that residents of the Skeena Watershed have a strong sense of what is important for our local economy and cultures,” said Friends of Wild Salmon coordinator, Pat Moss. “There is very little appetite for industrial development that puts wild salmon at risk in our rivers or our ocean.”
Friends of Wild Salmon also supports Northwest First Nations’ call for a separate First Nations review process of the Enbridge project.
Contacts:
Des Nobels: (250) 627-1859
Gerald Amos: (250) 632-4173
Pat Moss: (250) 847-9693
Friends of Wild Salmon is a coalition comprised of First Nations, commercial fishermen, anglers, and community organizations in the Skeena Watershed.