Say NO to local tar sands oil....

LATEST NEWS !

 A DAY OF ACTION: What a great turnout ! Thank you to everyone who attended the  screening of the documentary “I Am” on January 26, 2013 at Central Library, and those who participated in the march to Spencer Smith Park to further raise awareness of Enbridge’s Line 9 Project. To read more about other Day of Action activities from New England to Montreal to Toronto see this Jan. 21 article by CATCH Protests expand against tar sands pipeline

Our next CALL TO ACTION is an invitation to YOU to attend a very important public meeting at city hall to be held on THURS. FEB 7. The City of Burlington has invited Enbridge to present their Line 9B Project and answer questions at a dedicated public meeting beginning at 6:30pm in room 247 in City Hall, 426 Brant Street. Click here for more information about this meeting. The CITY requests those interested in attending to please RSVP  by phone 905-335-7600, ext. 7846, or by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

WHAT IS THIS ISSUE ALL ABOUT?

Enbridge is quietly attempting to provide a route for diluted bitumen by reversing the flow through it's 37 year old Line 9 pipeline that runs from Sarnia to Hamilton's Westover Station, through Flamborough then between 1st and 2nd Lines in Burlington.

It will cross several watersheds flowing from the Escarpment and Mount Nemo, including Bronte Creek, to Lake Ontario. The line continues across Halton, Peel and Toronto enroute to two Montreal refineries.

Residents across Ontario need to get informed and get involved in this issue to ensure that the health of our communities and ecosystems are not put at risk.

SOME KEY CONCERNS:

• Line 9B pipeline is already past its original life expectancy, the pipe integrity has not been established
• Capacity and pressure would increase
• Line 9B crosses significant Halton creeks and would impact watersheds and quickly flow all the way to Lake Ontario to our drinking water intake pipes if a rupture were to occur
• US Federal regulators are still investigating if diluted bitumen is corrosive and has been a causal factor in recent major spills in Wisconsin and Michigan
• Local emergency preparedness, first responders, and water treatment plant operators need to provide input on potential incident costs and remediation required
• Local infrastructure investment is supporting the tar sands and fossil fuel industry instead of being directed into renewable alternatives
• Enbridge has requested the NEB approve exempting the project from a full public hearing

CALL TO ACTION - HOW YOU CAN HELP...

CALL TO ACTION:

Please contact our elected officials to share your concerns about this important issue. You can be part of deciding Burlington's next steps to let Enbridge know Ontario's Escarpment is no place for tar sands oil to travel. You can contact Halton Chair Carr, Mayors & City Councillors and Halton Provincial MPPs along the Line 9 right of way including Flamborough This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Halton This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Burlington This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Oakville This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Ontario Environment Minister This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; and Federal MPs Burlington This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   and Halton This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

BurlingtonGreen has volunteer Eco Teams that focus on a variety of environmental topics like this one. We invite you to get involved. You can learn more HERE. 

LEARN MORE.....

• Since October, 2012 BurlingtonGreen volunteers have been researching, sharing information with the City of Burlington and Halton environment community groups, communicating our concerns, and suggesting key next steps the City, people and organizations can take regarding the Enbridge Line 9B project application submitted Nov. 29^th to the National Energy Board.

• The project application request is to transport oil products originating from Alberta to Sarnia and Hamilton terminals (Line 9A already approved), and now to reverse the flow of section Line 9B across the rest of Flamborough, Halton, and the highly populated GTA and through to Montreal refineries, and in future through to Portland, Maine ports to Texas refineries.

• A change in tariff has also been requested so the entire pipeline will be permitted to transport diluted bitumen in addition to lighter crude products. For more information on the background to Enbridge’s Line 9B project and our concerns please see BurlingtonGreen’s Dec. 3/12 delegation to the City of Burlington Development and Infrastructure Committee HERE.

• BurlingtonGreen followed up our delegation with a letter to City Council HERE  and a subsequent delegation for the Dec. 10/12 City Council meeting indicating pertinent next steps we hope the city will make in the next month. You can see the follow-up document HERE.

• On December 19, 2012 the NEB (National Energy Board) determined that the Enbridge application was complete and ready to proceed to assessment, and that there will be a public hearing for this project consisting of written evidence and oral final argument. The date for the hearing is yet to be determined. The next step is for the NEB to issue a hearing order that outlines the issues that will be addressed and this document is expected in late January or early February. You can see a description and status report of the NEB approval process HERE.
  

• In January 2013, BG asked the Ontario Minister of the Environment to exercise his authority under the Environmental Assessment Act to require Enbridge to prepare an environmental assessment for this project to assure all communities along the 830 kilometer right-of-way that the integrity of the pipeline is adequate and that risks can be mitigated to the extent possible. You can see a copy of the letter HERE and we encourage you to add your voices by submitting similar letters of request to the Minister. On January 23, 2013, we received this response letter HERE.

• We encourage you to communicate with your local, regional, provincial and federal representatives to share your concerns and ask for their support in assuring the integrity of the pipeline. We encourage you to emphasize that the NEB should not exempt this Enbridge application from the hearing process, indeed that a full public hearing is needed so outstanding questions and concerns can be raised. The NEB can also be asked to hold public information centres to explain the project application and raise public awareness of the issue, and we would urge you to do so.

You can also look to supportive partner Environmental Defence for template letters  and further background on this very important issue.