In Canada, a
public review of a proposed pipeline project through an area of exceptional
importance for marine birds is entering its final stages. The Enbridge Northern
Gateway Pipeline, if approved, would put at least 30 Important Bird Areas at
risk, most from oil spills, and fragment habitat for the critically endangered
mountain caribou.
Nature Canada
(BirdLife Partner) and BC Nature have enlisted the help of the University of
Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre to ensure the interests of birds and wildlife
are well represented during the public review. The two conservation groups have
been joint interveners before the review panel since hearings began in January,
and have campaigned against the project since 2009.
“From the
beginning we have argued the Northern Gateway Pipeline project poses
unacceptable risks to British Columbia’s wildlife, and that a spill would cause
irreversible harm to the livelihoods of many coastal and aboriginal communities
and the area’s unique marine ecosystems,” said Ian Davidson, Nature Canada’s
Executive Director. “We need to continue to press our case, so the
Environmental Law Centre’s offer to help comes at a critical time.”
BC Nature’s
president John Neville agrees: “The northern BC coast, islands and offshore
waters comprise a globally important area for marine birds and other animals,
including orcas, humpback whales, sea otters and Stellar’s sea lions, all
federally listed as species-at-risk.”
The proposed
pipeline would carry oil from Alberta’s tar
sands to a port at Kitimat,
British Columbia. After
travelling nearly 1,170km through pristine wilderness and First Nations
homelands, tar sands oil would be loaded on tankers bound for Pacific markets.
To get there,
tankers must first navigate the perilous northern B.C. coast, travelling the
same waters where the Queen of the North ferry sank in 2006.
An independent
Joint Review Panel has been holding hearings to consider Enbridge’s pipeline
project since January. Evidence submitted by Nature Canada and BC Nature to the
Panel last December focused specifically on threats to marine birds and
mountain caribou, revealing significant deficiencies and faulty conclusions in
Enbridge’s application, especially in regard to potential impacts on marine
birds.
This is an area
of exceptional international conservation importance to marine birds. Within
the project area, there are 30 Important Bird Areas designated for the globally
and nationally significant populations of marine birds they support. Each of
these IBAs supports 1% or more of the world population of at least one bird
species.
Many of these
IBAs are seabird colonies located on offshore islands around Haida Gwaii and
the Central and North Coast of British Columbia, which collectively support one
half of the world’s Cassin’s Auklets, about one third of the world’s Ancient
Murrelets, about one quarter of the world’s Rhinoceros Auklets, and up to 10%
of the global population of Pelagic Cormorants. Other breeding seabirds that
exceed global importance thresholds include Leach’s Storm-petrel, Fork-tailed
Storm-petrel and Pigeon Guillemot.
Several Globally
Threatened, Globally Near-Threatened and federally and provincially listed
seabird species regularly occur in the project area as non-breeders, including
Short-tailed Albatross, Laysan Albatross, Black-footed Albatross, Pink-footed
Shearwater, Buller’s Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater and Yellow-billed Loon.
The Environmental
Law Centre will be representing BC Nature and Nature Canada, on a pro bono basis, for
the balance of the Enbridge hearings.
According to
Chris Tollefson, the ELC’s Executive Director, “what happens this Fall will
very much resemble a courtroom situation, where lawyers question opposing
witnesses to try to get straight answers to hard questions about this project. Getting
ready for this stage of the hearings, especially for groups unfamiliar with the
litigation process, will take considerable preparation.”
Final hearings
into the proposed pipeline begin September 4 in Edmonton. With the help of the Environmental
Law Centre, BC Nature and Nature Canada will be questioning Enbridge
on the evidence the company has submitted on the impacts of the project on
birds, bird habitat and endangered species. Enbridge will also have a chance to
cross examine the witnesses that BC Nature and Nature Canada have
retained to analyze and raise questions about the proposal. All of this will
take place at hearings in Prince George and Prince Rupert, set to run
from October 1 through to December 18, 2012.
The ELC will also
present final arguments on behalf of BC Nature and Nature Canada to the
review panel in early 2013.