British Columbians are going to get a chance to have their voices heard on how to address the threat of oil spills in the province.
On Wednesday afternoon, the B.C. government announced it is holding a public consultation on how it should “defend B.C.’s land, coast and waters from oil spills.”
The consultations will be used to create new regulations around spill response and clean up. But the government insists that this is far bigger than just using all the tools possible to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline project.
“This is not about Kinder Morgan specifically. It is about anyone who transports oil through the province. It is meant to assure British Columbians that we are prepared for a spill, that we have adequate response plans” said said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman. “We need to make sure British Columbians have their voices heard on the next steps in protecting our environment.”
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The province is looking for feedback on response times following a spill, geographic response plans, compensation for loss of public use for an area resulting from a spill and maximizing the application of regulations to marine spills.
What is not being considered in this round of consultation is the controversial idea of the B.C. government restricting the flow of bitumen by rail or pipeline through the province, a notion that enraged Alberta’s NDP government. B.C. Premier John Horgan agreed to back away from consulting on that issue, instead seeking a legal decision on what B.C. can do.
READ MORE: B.C. government heading to court over bitumen flow consultation
“When it comes to the Trans Mountain pipeline, when it comes to the transportation of diluted bitumen, I don’t think the premier of Alberta — nor the prime minister — should take any comfort in the fact that we have now referred the matter to courts for jurisdictional review,” Horgan said last week. “So we’ll see how things go from here, but we’re far from out of the woods on this issue, and I don’t say that with any glee. I say it more out of sorrow.”
British Columbians can submit their input on the matter from Feb. 28 to April 30. Once the consultation process ends, ministry staff will post the summarized findings online. The final recommendations on the issue are expected later in 2018 or early 2019.
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“Our government is working to protect tens of thousands of jobs throughout B.C. in fishing, tourism and film,” Heyman said. “We will put effective spill prevention, response and recovery in place, while making sure that those responsible for spills are also made responsible for fixing the environmental damage they’ve caused.”
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has warned British Columbia’s government that her province won’t let their neighbours stand in the way of the federally approved Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project from being built. Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on Tuesday about the project, but did not provide any details on what they will do if British Columbia stands in the way of the pipeline twinning.
Those interested in participating can visit http://engage.gov.bc.ca/spillsregulation.