Dr. Gerald Graham, President of Worldocean Consulting Ltd, Interviewed by Stephen Quinn, Host of CBC Radio’s “On the Coast” Show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Wednesday, July 25, 2012 re BC’s Aspirations for a “World Class” Marine Oil Spill Response Regime. Click here for a link to a podcast of the interview.
Stephen: Well, earlier this week the BC Liberal Government announced a list of five minimum requirements for it to consider supporting the Northern Gateway pipeline. Now, two of those requirements say Enbridge must use world leading oil spill preparedness and response systems if the project is to move ahead. Gerald Graham is a marine oil spill expert. He joins us now for a closer look at oil spill cleanup and response. And we have reached him on the line in Victoria. Good afternoon to you, Gerald!
Gerald: Hi, Stephen!
Stephen: We’ll get to the specifics of the Northern Gateway pipeline in just a moment, but first- in the most basic of terms, how do you clean up a bunch of oil, once it’s been spilt onto water?
Gerald: Well, there are various methods. You can use booms to collect it, and skimmers to skim it off the surface. You could try to burn it. You could use dispersants. But here we’re talking about bitumen, which is a very heavy oil. It’s like asphalt, and so the challenges are extreme, because by most estimates the oil will not float on the surface; it will sink- it might sink to the bottom but it’s more likely to float in the water column. So, there’s really no capability on the BC coast at the moment to respond to that kind of incident.
Stephen: And where in the world do we find world-leading oil spill cleanup regulations?
Gerald: Well, the closest area would be Alaska, where you’re not dealing with heavy crude oil; you’re dealing with a medium crude. But they- after the Exxon Valdez spill they put in pretty stringent regulations. In addition to the double-hulled tankers, they have a capability there, with all the equipment and trained crew, to respond to a spill of 300,000 barrels of oil, and here in Canada the requirement nationwide is basically only for a spill of about 80,000 barrels. So, we’ve got to, you know, pull up our sleeves if we want to achieve world class standards.
Stephen: And, so, how well then has the BC Government done in recognizing the deficiencies in Federal cleanup regulations?
Gerald: Well, I think their report really hits the mark, actually. It shows the deficiencies in the Canadian oil spill prevention and response regime- particularly the response regime. It’s about twenty years old now, and it really needs a complete revamp. And, we need to up the capability. We need to have more equipment, and just better standards generally. And, Enbridge has volunteered to exceed the Canadian standards for its Northern Gateway project; but, even that falls short of the Alaskan requirement.
Stephen: And how so?
Gerald: Well, Enbridge is, for instance, proposing to have a capability to respond to a spill of about 160,000 barrels, and anything beyond that there would be a call that would go out to the international community to send equipment in. In Alaska, it’s- 300,000 barrels- is the legal requirement, and that’s not voluntary. So, you know, Enbridge’s proposal is only about half of what the Alaskans require.
Stephen: And how was that number set in Alaska- that it should have the capability to clean up 300,000 barrels of oil?
Gerald: I think it was twofold- the explanation for it. One is that the Exxon Valdez spill was about 260,000 barrels. And so, they figure, well, if we had a spill of that nature twenty-three years ago- let’s be prepared, like we weren’t, the last time. The other reason would be that these tankers, they carry up to maybe two million barrels of oil, and so they figure that maybe one sixth of the cargo might be discharged in the event of a ‘worst case scenario’.
Stephen: And how did we in BC arrive at the standards we have now that are still in place?
Gerald: Yes, well, these standards were developed after the after the Exxon Valdez spill and the Nestucca barge spill off the coast of Vancouver Island in 1989. But, the thing is that we have tankers now that are, as you know, taking oil out of the Kinder Morgan terminal in Vancouver. And we have very large ships that have Bunker fuel oil in large quantities. And so, what might have seemed reasonable twenty years ago in terms of response capability is no longer the case. I don’t think we’re really prepared for THE BIG ONE if it hits off the coast right now, let alone whether these tanker proposals for Kitimat and Vancouver get approved.
Stephen: If, though, currently, if there some kind of oil spill off BC’s Northern Coast, right now, under the current Federal regulations, what would happen?
Gerald: Well, the polluter would be responsible for cleanup, and would have to have a contract in place with the response organization along the coast, which here is Burrard Clean out of Vancouver, and they would have to meet the Canadian requirements, which are to have a cleanup crew on site within 72 hours, and start mopping up, and cleaning up, until the job is done.
Stephen: So, if the Federal Government changed its regulations and decided to become the best in the world, and if Enbridge promised to go above and beyond in cleaning up any spill- then, how safe would BC’s environment be from the risk of a major spill?
Gerald: Well, the problem there is that you can have all the equipment available in the world, in fact, and you still may not be able to effectively respond to a catastrophic spill on the North Coast, because of the logistical constraints. For instance, its remoteness; in the winter there’s not many hours of daylight and, more particularly, the extreme weather conditions that prevent cleanup. Most cleanup technology depends upon pretty well ideal conditions in order to work, and if it’s too windy, and the waves are too big, you just won’t even be able to get your booms and skimmers out there. So, there could be big challenges up there, even if we do have “world class” oil spill standards in place.
Stephen: Gerald Graham- great to talk with you this afternoon! Thank you for the time.
Gerald: Thank you, Stephen!
Stephen: I appreciate it. Bye Bye, now.
Gerald: Bye!
Stephen: Gerald Graham, a marine oil spill expert. So, what do you think about the story? Would the promise of world-leading oil spill cleanup practices from Enbridge- would that convince you to support the Northern Gateway pipeline? Call our Talk Back line: 604-662-6979. Love to know what you think about this: 604-662-6979.
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