Enbridge Protest

Tuesday, 5 August 2014 15:18

Protest halts work at Enbridge Line 9 site near Innerkip

INNERKIP - Work has been halted at the Enbridge Line 9 work site near Innerkip.

Protestors showed up at 7am Tuesday saying the pipeline poses a risk to animals, people, land and water.

Protestor Rachel Avery says they plan to stay on site indefinitely.

"Line 9 is a very dangerous project and that is why we are here. Enbridge is planning to pump bitumen from the tar sands through an aging, cracked, corroding pipeline and they are doing so without Environmental Assessment and they are doing so without consultation of affected indigenous communities as well."

"Bitumen is basically the dirtiest form of oil and this is what is coming out of the tar sands. It is very corrosive and it also is very thick so when it's pumped through pipelines it's mixed with a whole slurry of other chemicals that pose an additional threat of all of our waterways and eco systems."

The protestors claim Line 9 is the same age and design as the Enbridge pipeline which caused the largest in-land oil spill in American history and the line has already leaked at least 35 times in less than 40 years.

"Right here where we are it's crossing the Thames River and the Thames River is a source of drinking water for over half a million people and when bitumen spills, it can't be cleaned up. This is what we learned from Kalamazoo, Michigan they still don't know how to clean it up four years later. It's in the water. It's contaminated. "

According to Enbridge's website "Line 9 will carry mainly light crude oil. However, shippers will be permitted to ship crude oil blends or types that meet quality specifications set by Enbridge, and filed with the National Energy Board. This includes heavy crudes such as diluted bitumen which has been studied by numerous scientific bodies, including the highly respected and influential National Academy of Sciences, and found to be non-corrosive and safe for pipelines."

Enbridge Spokesperson Kristin Higgins says the company respects the rights of groups to voice their concerns.

"For Enbridge, no oil spill is acceptable. We have the capabilities to safely and effectively respond to any incident."

Higgins says the company has a very good safety record which they want to see continue.

"Safety is our top priority and that includes the safety of the people who are working on that site, the safety of the protestors who are there and you know the safety of the communities and the environment around."

Higgins says the workers moved to another site for the day but she can't speculate what will happen in the future if the protestors decide to stay.

"In terms of what may happen beyond today, I can't speculate on any action that might happen if the protestors do stay and what that means for the work that we need to do on that site."

More information can be found here.