Ontario Energy Board Energy East Consultation
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Ontario Energy Board Energy East Consultation Council of Canadians Written Submission, Part Two of OEB Energy East Consultations 300-251 rue Bank St, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1X3 Tel./Tel.: (613) 233-2773, Fax/Telec.: (613) 233-6776 www.canadians.orG [email protected] The Council of Canadians has welcoMed the opportunity presented by the Ontario EnerGy Board’s (OEB) consultation to share our views on TransCanada’s proposed EnerGy East pipeline. We have participated throuGhout this process, includinG organizational representation at the stakeholder and consultation sessions, as well as encouraGinG the participation of our supporters and volunteer chapters. The Council of Canadians is one of Canada’s leadinG proGressive advocacy orGanizations with More than 100,000 Grassroots supporters, includinG More than 40,000 in Ontario, and local volunteer chapters across the country, includinG 16 in Ontario. Through our caMpaiGns we advocate for clean water, fair trade, sustainable energy, public health care, and a vibrant deMocracy. The Council of Canadians believes the EnerGy East pipeline presents Many risks and little reward for Ontario. We are urGinG the Ontario governMent to publicly oppose the project. We Maintain that the risks identified in our first subMission to the OEB reMain relevant. These include the risk of a diluted bituMen spill in Ontario waterways, TransCanada’s pipeline safety record, the cliMate pollution iMplications of fillinG the pipeline, and increased reliance on fracked Gas iMports froM the U.S. We continue to question proposed benefits, Given that Energy East is priMarily an export pipeline that will provide few long-term jobs. Building on our previous submission, the below content provides feedback on the final technical reports prepared for the Ontario EnerGy Board and additional evidence supporting our position. We urGe the OEB to encouraGe the Province of Ontario to request a halt to the ongoing National Energy Board (NEB) review of the EnerGy East project. There are Multiple reasons why this needs to take place. Most notably, Ontario First Nations have requested a halt until they are properly consulted.i TransCanada’s application is also incoMplete – a clear conclusion of the technical reports coMMissioned by the OEB. The decision to drop the proposed Cacouna export port also leaves Many of the project details and route for Quebec residents in flux. The failure to provide this inforMation in a tiMely way to allow for inforMed participation in the forthcoMing NEB review siGnificantly liMits MeaninGful enGaGeMent. The unacceptable risk of a diluted bitumen spill in Ontario waterways The Council of Canadians Maintains that the transport of diluted bitumen, particularly Given the potential volume that could be transported and spilled by the 1.1 Million barrel per day EnerGy East pipeline, is an unacceptable risk to Ontario waterways. Since our previous subMission to the OEB,ii further evidence has coMe forward affirminG deficiencies in our understandinG of how diluted bituMen reacts in water, and the iMplications of a spill. A draft federal report on diluted bituMen, brouGht to the public’s attention thanks to an access to inforMation request, identifies a nuMber of knowledGe gaps about the behaviour and effects of diluted bituMen.iii These include diluted bituMen’s toxicity and its implications for aquatic environMents. The DNV-GL AssessMent of IMpacts on the Natural Environment brinGs to liGht a number of disconcerting Gaps in TransCanada’s application (while noting additional inforMation is to be filed). Of particular concern is Missing inforMation on potential iMpacts to surface and Ground water intakes, TransCanada's refusal to consider reroutinG options for the converted portion of the pipeline in liGht of proxiMity to waterways, and lack of worst case scenario spill Modeling (especially in the Multiple cases where the pipeline coMes near or crosses drinkinG water sources). How can the OEB inform the Ontario governMent effectively to represent this province’s interests based on an incoMplete assessMent? The Council of Canadians understands the constraints on the OEB’s tiMeline in liGht of the federally imposed NEB review tiMeline, but this should be recoGnized as a deficiency in the process. In reGard to the risk posed by the EnerGy East pipeline to the Oxford Aquifer outside of Ottawa, the DNV-GL report states, “despite the coMprehensive treatMent of Groundwater resources in TransCanada’s Application, DNC GL coMMents that elevated public concern about iMpacts in the Oxford- Marsh, Nepean and other aquifers will persist...” Indeed, our concerns persist and we believe there is good reason to question whether TransCanada’s treatMent is coMprehensive. TransCanada’s conclusion is partly based on the followinG, “Generally, the rate of crude oil transport throuGh soils is very slow and the extent of pluMe dispersion is liMited to 100M or less (Newell and Connor 1998).”iv Does this rate appropriately reflect the unique features of the Oxford Aquifer, which is classified as hiGhly vulnerable to contaMination by the Ontario Government? It is unclear whether this was considered in the DNV-GL assessMent. The aquifer is hiGhly vulnerable because the soil above it is mostly very thin and unable to absorb much. The rock under the soil has many holes and fractures that liquids could travel down towards the drinkinG water source. These concerns have been consistently raised by Sustainable North Grenville, a local Group of concerned citizens.v It is challenGinG to accept the prospect of a major oil spill in the area beinG of little concern considerinG that a recent provincial study hiGhliGhts the potential of a spill froM a hoMe heatinG fuel storaGe tank as presenting a serious concern for potential contaMination. Local Sustainable North Grenville MeMber Ian Angus further adds, “In 1991, in Manotick [nearby comMunity], a tank containing dry cleaning solvent leaked, poisoninG 74 local wells. Manotick had to spend Millions of dollars to build a new water distribution systeM. The town still pipes its water from Ottawa, because the local water supply still isn’t safe, 22 years later.”vi More than 10,000 people in North Grenville rely on a healthy Oxford Aquifer to supply their drinkinG water. And it was ultiMately the threat of a spill froM TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline (comparatively sMaller by volume) that inforMed widespread opposition in Nebraska where it traversed above the OGallala Aquifer that ultiMately led to the re-routinG of the pipeline. Opposition in that state continues. In the case of the Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada’s projections for the frequency of spills were questioned.vii ReGarding the report’s treatMent of Trout Lake, North Bay’s drinking water source, we urGe a separate, independent analysis of the risks presented in this particular location. There are a nuMber of tributaries the pipeline coMes near and cross that flow quickly into Trout Lake. The proxiMity to this pristine drinking water source warrants an independent third party assessMent that Goes beyond what TransCanada has presented in their application. Pipeline safety? Considering TransCanada’s track record While the DNV-GL assessMent of pipeline safety brinGs forward soMe critical inforMation for the OEB and Province of Ontario to consider, it fails to Make any assessMents beyond what TransCanada has proposed in its EnerGy East project application. EvaluatinG the iMpacts on pipeline safety and the natural environment must extend beyond TransCanada’s application to include a review of TransCanada’s pipeline safety track record. In lookinG at this track record the Council of Canadians discovered soMe serious concerns. In the past 15 months TransCanada has had five major ruptures on its pipelines in Canada. Between 1992 and now, TransCanada has had More ruptures than any other pipeline company, accordinG to statistics available froM the NEB.viii We all know that early detection of a leak is critical to MiniMizinG the impacts of a spill. In reviewinG Transportation and Safety Board reports of ruptures that occurred on TransCanada’s Mainline pipeline systeMix, of which one pipeline is proposed for conversion to carry oil for EnerGy East, we learned that: • One, arGuably two, of the nine ruptures on the Mainline systeM between 1994-2011 were first identified by TransCanada’s leak detection systeM.x • Other ruptures were discovered by TransCanada staff, passers-by and an Ontario Provincial Police officer. • Stress corrosion crackinG is the main cause of these ruptures. • The Gas was isolated to the ruptured seGMent of pipe in one case in seven Minutes,xi another rupture took 2 hours,xii while another took just over seven hoursxiii to fully isolate due to the failure of a valve to fully close. At 1.1 Million barrels per day, the sugGested 22-minute response in the event of an alarm, hiGhliGhted in the DNV-GL pipeline safety report, Means up to 2.6 Million litres of crude could potentially spill. There is also the crude that remains in the pipeline between the safety valves that could additionally drain. It is unfathoMable what a 3.5-hour or seven-hour spill on the Massive EnerGy East pipeline would Mean if it happened near or in any of the nuMerous waterways alonG its path in this province. Additionally, the sheer capacity of the pipeline also Means TransCanada’s electronic leak detection systeM won’t catch soMe potentially siGnificant spills. TransCanada’s leak detection systeM will only detect leaks that are Greater than 1.5% of the pipeline capacity. This means that up to 2.64 million litres of crude oil per day could leak out without a siGnal from the systeM. This pipeline safety history raises soMe siGnificant disparities between what has happened and what is being promised. This is further supported by pipeline safety concerns beinG raised by previous TransCanada eMployees. A recent Reuters investiGation found that the NEB is investiGating up to a dozen new alleGations of natural Gas pipeline safety code violations by TransCanada.xiv This is the second tiMe in recent years that the NEB has probed TransCansada's safety practices followinG coMplaints by a whistleblower.