Carrier Sekani Say Pipeline Too Risky

Prince George, B.C. - Enbridge may have more difficulty getting approval  for it’s twin oil and condensate pipeline than it expected.
 
David Luggi,  Tribal Chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council says his group will not support this project. Luggi says it isn’t about money, it isn’t about getting a better deal for First Nations, rather it is an issue about environmental concerns.
 
Speaking on the Meisner program on CFISFM this week, Luggi says he has serous concerns about Enbridge’s safety record.
The company has had leaks and spills over the years. According to the Edmonton Journal, Enbridge lost 13,177 barrels of oil in spills in 2007, up from 5,633 in 2006.
 
In January of this year, Enbridge was ordered to pay $1.1 million dollars to the State of Wisconsin for breaking hundreds of environmental agreements.
 
David Luggi says Enbridge would need to go through Carrier Sekani Tribal Council lands, which cover about one third of the pipeline route “There is no way we are going to allow it”.  He pointed to the Alcan agreement which gave that company the rights to the Nechako River water flows. It is his opinion that the controlled flows have had a disastrous effect on the sturgeon and salmon populations and only Alcan has benefited.
 
“People love to recreate in this region, there are about 1,000 rivers and creeks that this pipeline has to cross to get to Kitimat, for me, the risks are too high.” David Luggi says if people don’t care about the risks, “try putting some 10W30 on your trout next time.”
 
Two of the bands within the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council have signed their own protocol agreements with Enbridge.
 
This weekend, there will be an All Nations Energy Summit, hosted by The Office of the Wet’suwet’en  at the Moricetown Multiplex.
 
The purpose of the summit is to bring together First Nations and non-First Nations communities, potentially affected by the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, to share information on potential impacts of the pipelines, discuss  issues around tankers, tar sands expansion, and alternative energy solutions for Northern BC.