Issues Raised by the Intervenor on Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion to the NEB

From the presentation given on the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion to the National Energy Board (NEB), the first intervenor is Harvey McLeod who makes a compelling case against the project dues to various concerns emanating from the locals. As a representative of the Upper Nicola residents, the intervenor who also doubles up as the area chief opens his arguments by making a case of how his kinsmen have been in the territory for generations. The first issue of concern is that the pipeline expansion project will affect the crucial water towers represented by an elaborate drainage system consisting of water bodies and water shed. This is likely to affect the environment by rendering the water scarce in the territory. It will make everyday life difficult for the residents down the villages and camp sites who have numerous uses for water that supports their livelihoods. The disruption of the water bodies will adversely affect the ecosystem within the region that entails creeks, wetlands, streams, and aquifers. All these wet zones support living things in one form or the other. Their disruption will leave a trail of destruction for various marine wildlife and other forest mammals.

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The intervenor also argues that the locals have used the proposed area of expansion for ages for various functions. The land is said to have crucial socio-cultural, economic, and spiritual value to the sustenance of the locals. Their core activities are based on the life supported in the region with common practices like fruit gathering, hunting wildlife, growing crops, and sourcing for medicinal plants all dependent on the thriving ecosystem. The intervenor also makes a passionate plea that they are mere custodians of this land on behalf of the past generations for the sake of future generations. They claim it would be unfair to disregard this generational responsibility, especially because they have ownership documents to the lands in form of titles. In additional, there are rights that protect them, not to mention that there is the laid down judicial protocol that ought to be followed before rolling out the pipeline expansion in their lands. Besides these issues, there are fears of the long term impact of the crude oil production and transportation through the pipeline due to the challenges it presents. These include various operational concerns and the high risk of frequent oil spills. Other long term effects anticipated as a result of this project include longer and drier summers, climatic changes, floods and soil erosion, as well as droughts.

Questions from the Panel & Answers Given

There are pertinent questions that the panelists have asked the intervenor regarding the concerns touching on the pipeline expansion. The inetervenor has been expressly asked to expound on what is the public interest in the project and whether there is public trust in the expansion. Th other question concerns the applicable law or policy, if any, that argues on the significance of the location of a project. In response, the public interest has been clarified as the requirement to respect the wishes, dignity, and rights of the current occupants of the area and to act with their best interests at heart. Community involvement, accountability, and the transparency of the project operations as some of the items that should cultivate public trust among the locals. As for the significance of the location, the given response refers to the traditional use of the land to prove that some locations within the territory are more crucial than others. As a mitigation, the intended pipeline expansion may be relocated to other less utilized areas away from the densely populated and commonly used lands.

Reference

http://neb.isilive.net/TMPULC/2016-01-28/video-english.html