Safe Shippers Update

Here’s a note from Shaun Hubbard and the San Juan Islanders for Safe Shipping…

Hooray, Safe Shippers! We’ve been given a seat at the table! As it should be, we “get to” have a say in the fate of OUR waters!

Here’s the back story…
There is oil in the tar sands of Alberta, and Kinder Morgan wants to extract it and dilute it so they can pipe it. But first…they have plans to build a bigger pipeline (Trans Mountain) which will carry it to the west coast of British Columbia, where it will be put on ships for export to Asia and other parts of the world.

Those ships will pass right by us. There will be seven times more of them than there are now — up to 816 annual tanker transits through Haro Strait and Boundary Pass — increasing the risk of a major oil spill.

We need to tell Kinder Morgan and the Canadian government what we think about their plans — and now we can and we will!

Here’s the part about you…
Remember the letters you sent in February? They worked! You thanked the Washington Department of Ecology for applying for intervenor status and you asked our County Council members to apply to comment. The good news: Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has selected 1650 individuals and entities (including DoE and our Council) to be a part of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain project review process. The not-so good news: Out of 2118 applications received, they DENIED 468 concerned citizens a voice in the process!

Several other applicants from Washington State and San Juan County are being allowed to participate, including (drum roll, please)…
San Juan Islanders for Safe Shipping! That’s us!
Our cohorts at Lopez NoCoalition, Orcas NoCoalition, and FRIENDS of the San Juans have been accepted to comment, too!
This is exactly what should happen — we use our voices to protect what belongs to all of us — safe and clean waters.

Let’s tell them what we think about their plans for all this shipping along our shores. And let’s do this for those 468 who were denied the opportunity, and the billions of wild creatures who aren’t able to participate either.

The deadline for SJIFSS to submit our comment letter is September 9, 2014, so in the next few months, we will be hosting a series of comment-drafting parties. Stay tuned – we will let you know when and where. In the meantime, we have included a list (see below) of links to websites, articles, videos and a list of local events that we hope you will find informative.

Way to go, Safe Shippers! Thank you!!!!

San Juan Islanders for Safe Shipping

Video: Saanich Town Hall with Elizabeth May, member of Parliament
A short history lesson on the change in the Canadian environmental assessment laws, and what it’s like to apply to be heard.
Click here

In runup to pipeline review, critics accuse Kinder Morgan of bullying
Lawyers working for Kinder Morgan Inc. have sent a letter to the National Energy Board proposing the narrowest interpretation of who can participate in a review of the company’s proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Click here

NEB approves 400 interveners approved for Trans Mountain pipeline review
Changes to the National Energy Board Act that came into effect in July 2012 limit participation to those directly affected by a project or those with specific expertise or information.
Click here

Critics say NEB muzzling most oil pipeline speakers
“It’s a sad day for democracy in Canada, when nearly a thousand people who stepped up to take part in a complex regulatory process to have their say about a project of national significance are shut out of the hearings,” said Christianne Wilhelmson of the Georgia Strait Alliance, which was granted intervenor status.
Click here

Who gets to participate in Kinder Morgan hearings?
This site includes links to the NEB site and the list of participants. See if you can find your fellow islanders on the lists (hint, one of them will be an Intervenor).
Click here

Tar Sands Solutions Network is a growing international network of organizations including First Nations, environmental groups, landowners, farmers, scientists, community leaders, academics, and grass roots groups located throughout North America and Europe.
We represent a range of voices that are unanimously calling for a safe, clean energy economy that protects human and environmental rights.
Click here

Oil spill costs to top $40 billion. And that’s just for starters.
There is no such thing as “cleaning up” an oil spill. Most “clean ups” get about 10 percent of the oil spilled, like the way a 3-year-old “cleans up” milk spilled on the kitchen floor.
Click here

Kinder Morgan website
For more info on CEO Richard Kinder, google “Richard Kinder Enron”

The Trans Mountain project website

Kinder Morgan Goes to Sea
Kinder Morgan must be pretty sure that it will get Canadian government approval for its proposed increase on the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Click here

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