The Issue
Oil, Gas and Mining
Oil & Gas
Several pipelines have recently been proposed for northern B.C. to connect the Alberta Tar sands to tankers on the North Coast. These include the Enbridge oil pipeline, Pembina condensate pipeline and Kitimat LNG natural gas pipeline. If these pipelines are built, they pose serious threats to wild steelhead in the Skeena River system. They would be built through some of the toughest terrain on earth substantially increasing the chance of a serious spill into our pristine watersheds. It is not if they will rupture, but when and how bad. The proposed route is not only rugged but also very remote which increases the potential response time to contain and clean up a spill. One significant spill could destroy entire steelhead population(s) along the proposed routes.
In addition to the pipelines there are many proposed drilling areas to extract natural gas, oil and coal bed methane. The largest of these is seeing test drilling in an area called the sacred headwaters located at the source of the Skeena River. There is also a coal bed methane project in the process of being approved along the banks of the Bulkley River which is a major tributary and summer steelhead producer in the Skeena watershed. The oil and gas industry has a very poor track record and has devastated fish populations around the world. Many of these projects will become much more economically feasible if the pipeline infrastructure is completed.
Mining
There are currently 22 large mining projects being proposed and undergoing assessments in our area. Many of these are situated in the Skeena watershed and will add to the already operating mines of Kemess and Huckleberry. All of these projects impact water quality and therefore impact steelhead. One of the projects of most concern is Westhawk, which is proposing to strip-mine coal alongside the upper Skeena River. This development would see coal washed on site with potentially devastating impacts to fish.
For more information on these issues please contact Citizens Concerned about Coal Bed Methane and the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition.