To the editor:
Having attended the meeting hosted by the Ontario Energy Board at the Valhalla Inn on Jan. 14. about the Energy East Pipeline, I have to ask myself “what was the point?”
Even if TransCanada had included all of the critical information found missing from its 30,000-page application to the National Energy Board, it soon became evident throughout the presentations and subsequent discussion that even the people driving this ill-conceived project are not convinced that serious incidents (which I prefer to think of as catastrophic and irreversible disasters) can be avoided.
A presentation outlining the technical and mechanical makeup of the pipe itself was truly insulting. An attempt was actually made to sell the audience on the idea that a 30- to 50-year-old converted pipe (which is what will be used in Northwestern Ontario) is better constructed and far safer than a new one. That aside, discussions regarding how it is built or welded together are moot anyway since the pipeline is already there and there’s nothing we can do to change it.
What concerned me most, however, was the conversation around the installation of shut-off valves to be used in the event of a serious breach. It is extremely important for people to understand that under such circumstances the flow of bitumen through this pipeline cannot be stopped ‘quickly’ or by simply flipping a valve or two. It is physically impossible.
Considering the volume, and the speed at which it will be travelling (ie. 600+ psi), this would be tantamount to trying to slam the door on a runaway freight train! The whole idea is ludicrou.
This is not compressible gas we’re talking about here. Bringing a situation of that nature under control would take considerably more effort and much, much longer than the mythical 22 minutes proposed by the so-called ‘experts’ and by that time it will be far too late. Enough toxic waste will have spilled across the land and into nearby waterways to render parts of northern Ontario virtually uninhabitable.
And that’s only if the leak is major. Smaller leaks may not be detected for some time, if at all, and the damage could be wider-spread.
So all things considered, no amount of conversation, pretty pictures or coffee and cookies are going to convince me that the decision to move forward with this insanity, or the price to be paid by all of us for doing so, is anywhere close to worth it. While a few jobs have some giving this project a green light I, for one, am not willing to sell our water, our beautiful land, our fish and wildlife, my children’s and grandchildren’s futures, or my soul that cheaply!
On that note I have a message for the government of Ontario and ultimately for Mr. Harper. The answer is an emphatic and resounding “No. Definitely not in our backyard.
Daniel Kay,
Thunder Bay
