BC Government Seeks Public Feedback on Oil Spill Preparedness
On April 25, 2014 the Ministry of Environment released an intentions paper on Land Based Spill Preparedness and Response in British Columbia. The Ministry is now seeking public comment on the paper, which outlines intentions to strengthen British Columbia’s land based oil spill preparedness and response regime and describes the progress that has been made so far.
The public has until July 25, 2014 to submit their feedback on the paper. Comments can be submitted by email, letter, or by completing an electronic response form. To read the Condition 3 intentions paper, please click here. To submit your feedback on the paper, please click here.
3 Comments
I have some feedback… Stop 832-Oil-Spill-Enbridge from it’s relentless bitumen pipe-dream to China threats to BC. This is the biggest threats BC has ever faced.
In the “Design and Preparedness” Phase, the guiding principle for the oil and gas sector should be “100% user pay” (i.e., NO public funds for any disaster response).
At the same time, the approximately $34 billion (yes, $34 billion!!) of subsidies (Source: IMF) should be removed and redeployed for social and environmental catch-up purposes, not disaster remediation. This re-jigging of cost toward total life cycle costing of oil and gas derivatives would allow us to shift toward alternative energy options. The oil and gas industry has been getting a free ride globally for almost 100 years now…they’ve been reaping the profits and transferring most of the social and environmental costs to the rest of us. This has to stop, pronto!
Finally, each oil and gas company should have to post a substantial bond (multiples of $1 billion dollars, based on statistical risk, the size of the project by phase, and the environmental and social track record of that company) before any future project proceeds.
There is no acceptable response to any more oil spills. The ones that have already happened are still not cleaned up. Adding to the mess is in no way an idea that has the slightest merit. Babbling on about jobs and money to pay for “luxuries” like health care costs is only a smoke screen to deflect people from the real issue. Our government is at was with the planet and it has to stop.