Energy board approves line 9 plan

The National Energy Board of Canada has approved a controversial request to reverse an oil pipeline that runs through Hamilton. The decision is 15 months in the making. And while few people are surprised by the green light, many are still upset.

This decision is lengthy — 141 pages in all. But the conclusion is pretty simple. all three of Enbridges requests got the go ahead, with limited conditions.

The Calgary-based oil giant will be allowed to reverse the flow of oil in line 9, expand its capacity, and they will also be allowed to transport heavy crude in the pipeline that’s previously just been used for light crude.

The pipeline runs from Sarnia, through Hamilton, all the way to Montreal. The Hamilton-Sarnia stretch gained approval for reversal in 2012. Thursday’s decision reverses the remainder of the line and increases capacity for the whole 840 kilometre stretch. When it was built 37 years ago, it flowed east to Quebec. It was reversed in the late 90’s to run Sarnia bound. Thursday’s decision returns it to the original direction.

Enbridge and supporters of the move argue the change will provide a safer way to ship crude oil eastbound. Right now, it has to be transported by rail. A practice that’s been criticized, especially since the derailment of a tanker train in Lac Megantic, Quebec that killed 47 townspeople. They also argue shipping cheaper western oil to Quebec would allow two of the province’s refineries to stay open and reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

Opponents argue those upsides aren’t worth the risk. Protest against the reversal has been extensive. Activists say the pipeline is too old to handle the increase from 240,000 barrels per day to 300,000. The board has also approved the transportation of diluted bitumen in line 9. It’s heavier than light crude oil and because of its weight, it can be harder to clean up if a leak does happen. Protesters use the 2010 Enbridge pipeline leak in Kalamazoo, Michigan as an example of this. Four years later, they are still cleaning bitumen from the river.

But in Thursday’s decision, the energy board says they feel secure in Enbridge’s ability to mediate risk — saying their emergency and environmental protection plans are sufficient.

Don McLean, of Hamilton 350, and anti-line 9 activist group had this reaction to the decision. “Not surprised, we anticipated this would happen. We’ve already prepared a large rubber stamp to illustrate that this is what we anticipated — this is what the National Energy Board does. Our concern is with climate change so we’re particularly concerned with bitumen in the pipeline, It has big implications because if it spills, it’s much harder to clean up. In addition, the dilutants that are put with it are toxic — people get sick when those spills occur in addition to having to clean up the bitumen that sinks to the bottom of the waterway. That bitumen is coming from the tar sands and it’s the dirtiest form of oil on the planet. It contributes to climate change, particularly in Canada. Those conditions were expected (from the NEB) and don’t really change anything. The province asked for hydrostatic testing and an independent review and the province turned them both down so it doesn’t look like they’ve put anything in there that’s going to be particularly onerous to Enbridge.”

There are several conditions imposed in the agreement. among them, Enbridge will be the subject of ongoing compliance reviews by the energy board. The NEB will also require final approval of reversal and expansion logistics before any action is taken.