Nice try, Mr. Black. The newspaper tycoon's proposal to build a $13 billion oil refinery near Kitimat last week was clearly an attempt to garner enough new support for Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline among British Columbians to win the day. While on first blush it appears that it succeeds in addressing two of opponents' major concerns surrounding the controversial project, one need only dig a bit deeper to find serious flaws on both fronts.
Black argued that processing bitumen before shipping it - and keeping some 3,000 permanent and contract jobs in the province - would significantly reduce the risks associated with an offshore spill because refined products (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) would mostly evaporate if spilled.
However, Karen Wristen of the Living Oceans Society told the Vancouver Sun last week, that in addition to the impact of air pollution created by evaporating refined fuels, one-third of processed light diesel oils remain and often wash up onshore. A study done for the Washington State government in 2009 found that "light oils had greater impact on shellfish and plankton than equal-volume spills of heavy fuels and gasoline, while thicker oils had greater impacts on mammals and birds," the Sun reported. The jury is still out, but it appears that while the impacts of a spill on what has been called "megafauna" might be reduced, the long-term impacts on marine and intertidal ecosystems might be just as great.
It almost goes without saying, too, that Mr. Black's proposal does nothing to address the issue of pipeline spills onto land and into waterways along the 1,177-kilometre, route.
While those drawbacks are significant, the most serious fly in Black's ointment might well be economic. The companies behind the Enbridge proposal -those wishing to ship slightly diluted bitumen from Alberta's tar sands to China - have until now supported it on the premise that the product would be refined in Asia. Those whose backing would be required for the refinery with the Orwellian name - Kitimat Clean Ltd. -are likely to have a tough time convincing the Chinese to sell the oil to them.
Sorry, Mr. Black, but while it might alter the debate somewhat, this is one trial balloon that's not likely to fly.
- David Burke
