Requirements for British Columbia to consider support for heavy oil pipelines

The report of the NTSB into the actions of the company and their response to the spill have reinforced our belief that the adequacy of spill response and prevention needs to be significantly improved in advance of construction of any new heavy oil pipelines in British Columbia. [...] We do not believe that the current level of spill response is sufficient for the level of shipping between our B. C. ports and the world, based on work undertaken by the Ministry of Environment and the 2010 Oil Spills from Ships report by the Canadian Auditor General. [...] With port traffic expected to continue to increase, British Columbia is concerned about the current cap- acity of spill response even in the absence of additional oil tankers from the Northern Gateway Project or the Kinder Morgan proposal to increase the amount of oil shipped out of the Port of Vancouver. [...] The purpose of this paper is to look exclusively at the spill risk in the context of current and future tanker traffic; what can be learned from other jurisdictions; and, what is needed from the federal government to become a leader in reducing the risk of a spill. [...] As a Pacific Gateway, growth is expected at all major ports in the north and south of the province.13 Size and types of tankers The size of the tankers is an additional consideration alongside the number of trips.