16/03/2018

BC Has Major New Ally in Fight to Stop Kinder Morgan

Washington Governor Jay Inslee backs B.C. in Trans Mountain expansion fight

British Columbia has a major political ally on board in the fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline. Washington Governor Jay Inslee, rumoured to be a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, is pledging to do what he can to support B.C.’s push to stop an increase in bitumen flow to the west coast.

“We in Washington are very appreciative of the leadership your premier is taking on this issue,” said Inslee, answering questions from reporters in Vancouver. “We have serious questions about whether it really makes sense to be making such significant investments in fossil fuel infrastructure given the fact we know we need to wean ourselves off carbon based fuels.”

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An oil spill bill in Washington, a pipeline protest in B.C.

Calls to action aimed at keeping oil out of the Salish Sea heard on both sides of border

On the eve of March 10's Protect the Inlet march that drew ten thousand people to march 2.5 kilometres up a hill (and back). Washington State's governor signed legislation protecting the orcas, salmon and https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Canada-Oil-Pipeline-Protest-12736836.php

Washington has a new layer of protection for the Salish Sea, with the Legislature on Wednesday completing passage of the Oil Spill Prevention Act and sending it to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature.

The Washington bill is a signal of wariness toward potential oil spills on this side of the border. The British Columbia government, meanwhile, is trying to stop the planned 890,000 barrel-a-day pipeline that would carry Alberta tar sands oil to a tanker port in Burnaby, B.C., just east of Vancouver.

Washington lawmakers acted to close a tax loophole for oil moving by pipeline, thereby ensuring all modes of transporting oil are taxed at the same rate to support the state's prevention and spill preparedness work.

The legislation sets out to identify and accelerate additional safety measures to prevent spills, such as dealing with the threat of barge traffic and working with British Columbia on risks of transport through the Salish Sea.

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, whose district now sees tanker traffic to two refineries at Cherry Point north of Bellingham, and would see tankers in and out of Burnaby pass San Juan Island through Haro Strait.

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From Globe Forum 2018 in Surrey, British Columbia:

Showing 6 reactions

Jon Leek commented 2018-06-08 13:29:22 -0700
I really hope Jay Inslee is sincere in his promise. I would much rather see our country use the bitumen to make products of our own. Imagine the products we could make. By jolly we could use the bitumen to make plastic for solar panels! If American’s are going to be the ones buying our bitumen, and the Chinese, then they’re not going to want us to make our own goods. They’re like bullies who say “give us your lunch money” so we can’t buy anything of our own with it. No don’t get me wrong; I’m so grateful for the fact that we even have oil reserves but there’s better ways of getting it—slowly and without accident—and when we’re using it to make our own products we won’t be needing to extract it so fast anyways.

I just wanted to get that off my chest,
I’m here to help protest, and I’m sure my company would be, too, if you ever need support around BC.
Sincerely, Jon
Contact: http://www.aiolandscaping.com/contact.html
I left my full signature like Jay Inslee to show I’m not ashamed to be supporting the right cause!
Robert Ages commented 2018-03-18 17:43:25 -0700
Of course people who actually know what they are talking about are aware that the massive expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline is solely designed to carry bitumen to offshore markets. Not a drop will be processed or used in BC or anywhere else Canada. In fact the former Chevron refinery – recently purchased by Parkland Fuel Corp. – was not designed to handle super-heavy feedstock such as comes out of the tar sands. As more of the supply is shifted to bitumen the future of that plant and those good jobs are increasingly threatened. And like the existing Kinder Morgan pipeline the expanded one will also most likely include a branch line to Cherry Point so the comment from Brett Jespersen makes no sense on that count as well.
karen skjonhals commented 2018-03-17 20:23:43 -0700
I thank all of the people who are standing up for our coastline. What are the politicians thinking not to see what a horrible idea this is. I wonder if a spill does occur, will they be there for the clean up. As a disillusioned voter, I feel betrayed by the promises broken by politicians. We need to take our power back and not let those who would sell us out for money ruin our beautiful province. Thanks to all of you that care.
Ron Bruce commented 2018-03-16 20:05:54 -0700
Washington Governor Jay Inslee finally woke up to the fact that an oil Tanker going down in the in the Strait of Juan de Fuca the bitumen oil will wash up on American soil. And since the tankers fly “flags of convenience”, no one will be held responsible. Kinder Morgan’s liability ends at the terminus in Burnaby BC. And the premium that Americans pay for each barrel of oil extracted/shipped for clean-up spills doesn’t cover bitumen. The majority of Bitumen sinks to the bottom, where fisheries are affected of the next 1,000 years.

Too bad the Governor of Michigan had his eyes closed when Enbridge spilt 1 million gallons of bitumen into the Kalamazoo River. If he was at all intelligent, he would own Enbridge today.
Sarah Knoebber commented 2018-03-16 20:05:00 -0700
It’s astonishing how long it’s taking to get this pipeline off this coastline and out of the Salish Sea.
So much is being threatened and endangered ( besides us humans). I thank all those that are standing up for this fight.
Bhavana Lymworth commented 2018-03-16 19:50:47 -0700
This is a deeply heartening step towards protecting our coast. Thank you, Governor Inslee,and Washington, for being WOKE!