Sierra Club BC statement on National Energy Board recommendation to approve Trans Mountain
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 22, 2019
Sierra Club BC offered the following statements in response to the National Energy Board recommendation to proceed with building the Trans Mountain pipeline and tankers project:
“Today’s recommendation is the unfortunate outcome of a flawed, rushed and improperly scoped review process. In many respects it was doomed to fail from the beginning. The federal government have set themselves up for what will likely be endless court challenges and they only have themselves to blame for delays in the project.
“From irresponsible tar sands expansion proposals like Teck Frontier to irresponsible tanker and pipeline expansion proposals like Trans Mountain, it’s the federal government who are to blame for compromising review processes. It’s the public, the whales and future generations that would suffer the consequences of this government’s mistakes. And we’re not willing to let that happen.
“By excluding critical orca whale habitat from the scope of the review, the NEB could not assess the real risks of this project. The Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project would be a death sentence to the southern resident orcas and the Chinook salmon habitat needed for their survival.
“No federal protection plan can save the whales if oil tankers are transiting their critical habitat, with noise pollution and the risk of an oil spill. Defending the coast for orca whales is of national importance, and the opposition to this project isn’t going anywhere.”
– Mark Worthing, Conservation and Climate Campaigner
“Today’s recommendation is disappointing but unsurprising given the rushed process and limited scope of the review. The National Energy Board found that the proposed oil tankers would have ‘significant adverse environmental effects on the southern resident killer whale and on Indigenous cultural use’ and that the greenhouse gas emissions would be significant, and yet they recommended approval anyway. By pushing such a flawed process, the federal government has set themselves up for the same types of court challenges that overturned the initial approval. This pipeline is no closer to being built.
“As the climate crisis worsens and the costs to taxpayers of this project increase, it’s time for the prime minister to step away from this climate-polluting pipeline and invest in a clean energy economy instead.”
– Caitlyn Vernon, Campaigns Director
Media Contact:
Mark Worthing, Conservation and Climate Campaigner
(250) 889-3575
