| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Project proposes to build a 91 cm (36 inch) oil export pipeline and a 51 cm (20 inch) condensate import pipeline from Bruderheim Alberta to Kitimat BC. The oil pipeline would transport conventional and synthetic oil, and over time an increasing amount of bitumen. The bitumen would be diluted with a thinner hydrocarbon or condensate and the combined product is referred to as diluted bitumen. These products are toxic to fish at low concentrations. The 1,176 km pipeline would cross over 600 fish-bearing streams in British Columbia, including some of the most important salmon habitats in the upper Fraser, Skeena and Kitimat watersheds. This submission focuses on a portion of the pipeline route that is located adjacent to Morice River, 70 km VRXWKRI6PLWKHUV7KLVNPORQJVHFWLRQRIFKDQQHOLVUHIHUUHGWRDVĶ5HDFK¶:LWKLQWKLVDUHD0RULFH River has formed a wide floodplain that contains numerous active secondary channels, log jams and wetlands that comprise the core spawning and rearing habitat for Morice River fish populations. Schwab (2011) indicates that slope instability in this area has the potential to rupture the proposed pipelines. This report examines the implications of a pipeline rupture and subsequent clean-up efforts to river processes, fish and fish habitat. The submission reli |
