Special Report: Climate Change

Discredited NEB Poised to Approve Line 9 Reversal

The National Energy Board has refused to require Enbridge to use pressurized water to test its Line 9 pipeline running from Sarnia to Montreal before expanding its flow volumes by 25 percent and adding diluted bitumen to its product mix.

By Don McLean
Published June 16, 2015

An increasingly discredited federal regulator is poised to okay shipment of tar sands bitumen through Hamilton in a 40-year-old pipeline that experts say is 90 percent certain to rupture and despite demands from the province of Ontario and the cities of Montreal and Toronto for a standard safety test.

The National Energy Board has refused to require Enbridge Inc to use pressurized water to test its Line 9 pipeline running from Sarnia to Montreal before expanding its flow volumes by 25 percent and adding diluted bitumen to its product mix.

The NEB has also refused to delay its decision until a well-founded court challenge is heard on June 16 from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.

The Hamilton 350 Committee calls on Hamilton City Council, provincial MPPs and federal representatives to urge the NEB to respect aboriginal treaty rights and not permit use of Line 9 until after the court challenge is concluded. We urge them to also support the reasonable requests for a hydrostatic pressure test of Line 9 and the installation of shut-off valves on either side of the pipe's stream crossings to reduce the threat to our drinking water supplies and the natural environment.

The evidence that the National Energy Board is broken and discredited is extensive. It includes:

The fate of Hamilton's streams and drinking water should not be left to a discredited federal regulator.

On July 5 at 1pm, join the March for Jobs, Justice and the Climate.

Don McLean is chair of Friends of Red Hill Valley and coordinator of Citizens at City Hall, a volunteer group that has monitored city affairs since 2004 and distributes free news articles via email. The group can be contacted at info@hamiltoncatch.org.

8 Comments

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By ergopepsi (registered) | Posted June 16, 2015 at 11:42:48

The dirtiest politics and lowest of the low of humanity is involved in the oil business. My next car will be electric.

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By Missy2013 (registered) - website | Posted June 16, 2015 at 14:39:07

Know where Line 9 runs relative to your homes and businesses.

Here's one resource: http://line9communities.com/local-maps/

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By thanks for mapping (anonymous) | Posted June 16, 2015 at 15:44:25 in reply to Comment 112292

Thanks for this. Very helpful in getting idea of where, locally.

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted June 16, 2015 at 17:50:54

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By jason (registered) | Posted June 16, 2015 at 22:54:57

Having indirectly worked for one of our country's largest oil producers

Aaaaaaand it all suddenly makes sense....

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By DowntownInHamilton (registered) | Posted June 17, 2015 at 21:56:39 in reply to Comment 112300

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Comment edited by DowntownInHamilton on 2015-06-17 21:57:43

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By nottlloyd (anonymous) | Posted June 17, 2015 at 07:32:46

Attack the idea - NOT the person.

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By KevinLove (registered) | Posted June 17, 2015 at 12:45:26 in reply to Comment 112301

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

-Upton Sinclair

Source:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes...

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