13 people are dead, 37 are missing follwoing the Lac-Megantic train disaster in Quebec on Saturday.
The tragedy has re-focused attention on the debate in B.C. about transporting oil, and about oil pipelines.
Trains are increasingly carrying oil throughout the southern part of B.C., although no oil is transported to the coast by train at this time.
“Any community with a rail line going through it, is going to be at risk,” said Keith Stewart, Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner. He said train traffic in B.C. tripled from 2011 to 2012, and is expected to double or triple this year.
“It’s growing rapidly, it’s a new problem, our regulations haven’t kept up.”
There are numerous proposals on the table to carry oil by train to the coast.
We have had train derailments in B.C., although not at the same level as the Lac-Megantic disaster.
In 2001, seven cars carrying crude oil on their way to the Ioco Refinery derailed in Port Moody and caused the evacuation of numerous residents. Another derailment in Cheakamus in 2005 caused toxic chemicals to spill into the river and kill the fish.
In 2007 in Prince George, burning rail cars filled with fuel crashed into each other and burst into flames.
Moving oil by rail is more expensive than moving it through a pipeline, but it is subject to fewer regulations.
So which is a safer method?
“We hear from industry all the time that this is being done as safely as possible,” said Ben West with Forest Ethics. “But even if it is safe, 99 per cent of the time when this is what happens, the one per cent of the time when something goes wrong, that to me is an unreasonable risk.”
Watch: Are pipelines safer?
It is no secret, in B.C., opposition to pipelines is high.
While environmentalists protest, the industry reacts to real world demand. Chevron is now using rail cars and trucks to transport crude oil to its Burnaby refinery.
Up to 10 rail cars a day bring in conventional light crude to the city, and four trucks a day bring in another thousands barrels of crude. The company is forced to do so because the trans mountain pipeline – owned by Kinder Morgan – is at capacity.
Industry observers say pipeline capacity in Canada is inadequate because of growing demand, but pipelines are still the safest way to move the oil.
While British Columbians continue to debate the Enbridge pipeline proposal, very few are aware another company called G7G is proposing a 2,400 kilometer rail line linking the oil sands capital of Fort McMurray to Alaska, for eventual export by ship. The tracks would pass through northern B.C., a further reminder rail companies see moving crude as an economic opportunity.
When it comes to pipelines or rail cars – B.C.’s Environment Minister would not commit today.
“There is differing opinion on either side, much depends on what kind of topography you’re dealing with in a particular location,” said minister Mary Polak.
“I suppose on a per-litre basis, you could make some kind of determinations that way, but it really depends on the individual circumstances which one one believes is safer.”
Inevitably British Columbians might have to choose between pipelines or rail cars.
– With files from Darlene Heidemann and Jas Johal.
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