Canadian Regulators OK Trans Mountain Pipeline, With Impacts On Traffic Through Washington Waters
On Friday, Canadian regulators endorsed the long-fought oil pipeline, which would bring more oil vessels through Washington state waters.
Traditional cedar hats abound as Washington tribal leaders speak at an “oral traditional evidence” hearing held by the National Energy Board in Victoria, B.C. CREDIT: NATIONAL ENERGY BOARDRead On
The Canadian government proposal would lengthen the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which would allow the country to ship more oil overseas and bring in higher prices. Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is widely expected to approve it.
The pipeline is expected to bring more oil tankers through Washington and Canada waters, which alone wouldcould make up more than 3 percent of the vessel traffic in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
A protester holds a sign stating during a Kinder Morgan (Trans Mountain) Pipeline rally on Sept. 9, 2017 in Vancouver, Canada. CREDIT: WILLIAM CHEN/WIKIMEDIA/CREATIVE COMMONS
Environmental advocates and indigenous communities say the pipeline expansion would devastate killer whale and salmon habitat, and threaten more oil spills.
“We’re gravely disappointed and angry,” said Raynell Morris of the Lummi Indian Business Council. “We need to stop any development or increase in vessel traffic on the Salish Sea.”
Morris said it’s going to be a battle to fight the major oil pipeline expansion in Canada. But Washington and Canadian tribal communities plan to keep fighting the pipeline expansion, despite the National Energy Board’s endorsement.
In recent months, tribal leaders and the state of Washington formally asked the Canadian government to halt pipeline construction, until more is known about how it would impact orcas and the Earth.
They see noise and vessel pollution as a threat to orca habitat.
“The orcas have been crying out to us, the mother carrying her dead baby for over 16 days is a clear cry for help,” Morris said. “It is extremely threatening.”
Related Stories: [Copyright 2019 Northwest Public Broadcasting]
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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