NWF photo – rescued turtle covered in tar sands oil from the Kalamazoo River

The large problem for Enbridge is that they can’t hide from the real-life facts. Enbridge has the best (and worst) “study” right here in the Kalamazoo River, where they spilled around a million gallons of tar sands crude into Michigan waters. This spill has proven the exact opposite: tar sands oil sinks in fresh water! 

This is not a little white lie: the fact that tar sands oil sinks in water is one of the biggest problems facing the industry and pipeline operators, proving that any spill of any kind into water is devastating, toxic and impossible to clean-up. The hundreds of acres of submerged oil in the Kalamazoo River — that Enbridge can’t clean up — is case and point!

Steep Learning Curve for Tar Sands Spills

Michigan journalist Fritz Klug wrote about this very point almost two years ago:

“At minimum, we’re writing a chapter in the oil spill cleanup book on how to identify submerged oil,” [EPA incident commander Ralph] Dollhopf said. “We’re writing chapters on how it behaves once it does spill (and) how to recover it.”

What the EPA didn’t expect at the beginning of the spill last July was how much time they would spend extracting the heavier oil submerged in the bottom of the Kalamazoo River.

“In a situation where we don’t have to be concerned with submerged oil, then we clean up the oil on the surface and be done,” Dollhopf said.

This past fall, the EPA issued Enbridge another work order to address the hundreds of acres of submerged oil, but Enbridge is dismissing that order because they have no idea how to remove the oil from the bottom of the river without causing extreme habitat destruction.

When a tar sands pipeline spill occurs, all readily available equipment used to clean-up oil will only address oil floating on the surface of water. So, for any pipeline operator to say they know how to properly clean up tar sands crude — this is a flat out lie.

Again, this point is extremely important considering the flood of tar sands pipeline projects hitting the U.S.

Enbridge tries to control the migration of submerged oil at Marrow Lake, along the Kalamazoo River. EPA photo

Lawmakers in the Dark

Taking this a step further, the lack of acknowledgment by our decision makers and congressional members is a little shocking. Our leaders should be demanding that regulators and pipeline operators make immediate changes to spill response plans to address this very issue, and no tar sands pipelines should be expanded or constructed until issues like this are fully addressed. This should have been an outcry immediately following Enbridge’s spill — especially considering tar sands crude is already running through many pipelines that travel in and around the Great Lakes, which are the freshwater drinking source for millions or people and habitat for countless wildlife. 

In fact, many members of Congress are ignoring the facts and trying to streamline massive tar sands pipeline projects, like Keystone XL, which will expose millions to the risk of spills and drive development in Canada’s tar sands region, one of the biggest threats to our global climate.

We are allowing Enbridge to cover up the facts with propaganda, which will continue to allow the industry to expand plans for transporting tar sands oil through some of the most sensitive areas in the world.

Contact your lawmakers and tell them you are sick of industry distorting the facts, which continues to put our communities, resources and wildlife at risk.

Tar sands refining complex in Alberta, Canada (Photo: Kris Krug)

1. The Supplemental EIS is mostly bad news. Few of the things we hoped would be included — such as climate impacts and threats to endangered wildlife like whooping cranes and woodland caribou — were seriously examined.
2. Remember all of those problems with tar sands pipeline spills? Apparently the State Department decided they weren’t worth paying much attention to, even after the biggest inland spill in U.S. history, spill risks aren’t adequately addressed in the SEIS.
3. Once again, Tribal communities are being left out of the conversation. The federal government is required to “meaningfully consult” with tribes on issues that affect them, but the SEIS ignores the concerns of Native American groups despite widespread opposition to the project.
4. Legal experts believe the State Department should have re-evaluated the entire project in light of new information that’s come up over the last year. For example, back when KXL was proposed, the US wasn’t producing nearly as much domestic oil as it is now. When the point of a review is to evaluate “purpose and need,” you would think they would actually evaluate whether we need it.
5. In a rare bit of good news, the SEIS acknowledged that tar sands oil is fundamentally different from conventional oil.

President Obama visited Iowa last August during the region-wide drought that decimated crops and cost U.S. taxpayers around $20 billion. Climate change, driven by use of fossil fuels like tar sands, is causing extreme weather events around the globe. (Photo: USDA)

Where Does That Leave Us on Climate?

There are lots of problems to pick apart here, but let’s tackle the big one: climate change. President Obama has cast himself as the leader who will bring us back from the edge of planetary catastrophe, which makes this Keystone report even more baffling. The pipeline alone is bad enough (the greenhouse gas equivalent of 4.6 million cars) and we know that if it’s built, it will drive more tar sands mining. Crazily, the State Department is figuring that Keystone XL would just be one of many pipelines coming out of Canada in the next few years, and therefore can’t be held responsible for the resulting climate catastrophe. But in fact, Keystone is the linchpin for future development in the tar sands region. Mostly as a result of the campaign against Keystone, we’re already seeing that oil companies are slowing investments in the tar sands — the self-fulfilling prophecy of “more development –> more US oil imports” is being proven wrong in real time.

And if Obama rejects the project, it makes it that much harder, politically and economically, for the next company to build a pipeline through the U.S.; precedent will have been set. In other words, the State Department has fundamentally ignored its own role in how this scenario plays out. If they allow pipelines to get permits, the tar sands will be developed. If they reject the permits, the oil industry will really struggle to get its dirty product out of Canada. Just take a look at the cage match they’re fighting over the “Northern Gateway” pipeline, the Canadian equivalent of Keystone XL, which is going nowhere fast, thanks to steadfast opposition from First Nations (tribal) groups and tens of thousands of other citizens north of the border.

According to Jim Lyon, NWF’s vice president for conservation:

If Keystone XL wouldn’t speed tar sands development, why are oil companies pouring millions into lobbying and political contributions to build it? By rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, President Obama can keep billions of tons of climate-killing carbon pollution locked safely in the ground.

NWF will be coming out soon with a more detailed analysis of the report, but right now we’re incredibly disappointed with what the State Department has put forward. Fortunately, we still have a chance to make our voices heard — there will be a 45-day public comment period, and you’d better believe we’re going to get loud. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, this decision is ultimately President Obama’s to make, and we need him to stop the madness now. Keystone XL would take our climate to the point of no return. If he cares about his legacy, his kids, wildlife, or the billions of people around the world who are facing the looming specter of climate change, he has to say NO to this pipeline. There is no other option.

Speak up for people and wildlife! Tell President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline and protect our planet.

The advocacy group SumOfUsis running a campaign to pull the misleading ad off the airwaves,alleging that Enbridge is “deliberately and dramatically misrepresenting the risk of oil supertankers travelling through the 4th most dangerous waterway in the world.”

Enbridge was already having a bit of a rough week, as CEO Patrick Daniel went on the radio to complain that pipeline opponents are “revolutionaries” bent on exploiting the “weak link in the system” (pipelines) to move the country toward renewable fuels.

Though not as well-known in the United States, Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project is the Canadian equivalent of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, and has been attacked by First Nations indigenous groups, conservationists and millions of citizens angry at the oil industry’s heavy-handed approach and pattern of environmental destruction. The project would send tar sands oil to Asia and help expand the reach and influence of Alberta’s tar sands industry, but the province of British Columbia has resisted it so far, with Premier Christy Clark publicly slamming Enbridge for its failures.

An NWF report released earlier this summer details the company’s record of disaster — more than 800 spills over the last 13 years, including a million gallon tar sands spill in Michigan in 2010 and a 50,000 gallon spill in Wisconsin just last month. “Enbridge’s long history of pipeline spills can’t be explained by mistakes or bad luck,” says NWF senior vice president Jeremy Symons. “You can’t make the same mistake eight hundred times, but that’s how many oil spills we have seen from Enbridge pipelines. Contaminated water may be an acceptable cost of doing business to Enbridge, but we can’t afford to turn a blind eye to their irresponsible safety record.”

Tell your member of Congress to stand up for people and wildlife against dangerous tar sands projects!

Read NWF’s report Importing Disaster: The Anatomy of Enbridge’s Once and Future Oil Spills

From coast to coast, New England to British Columbia, oil giants like Enbridge Inc. are trying to ship Canadian tar sands oil to overseas markets. Gray wolves, caribou, and hundreds of other species are at risk from the tar sands industry, but you can help: Tell Congress to SAY NO to these dangerous and polluting projects. And if you want to reach out directly to Canadian officials, the end of the essay includes links to important action items.

You can check out more of Franke’s work at www.frankejames.com. Reprinted with permission.

Hey Mister Prime Minister, What Are You Afraid Of?

By Franke James

Map in detail

Link to secret report

Tell Canada’s Prime Minister Harper what you think

Click here to send an email to Prime Minister Harper about your concerns

Visual Essay Credits

“Hey Mister Prime Minister, What are You Afraid Of?” © 2012 Franke James

Writing and illustration by Franke James (see additional photo credits below).

Transcript: Features quotes from Franke James’ March 3, 2012 interview with Joe Oliver, Federal Minister of Natural Resources.

Franke James is an award-winning artist whose illustrated essays on environmental and social issues have been reviewed and showcased around the world. In November 2011, James’ art show “Banned on the Hill” appeared in Ottawa, around the corner from Parliament Hill. The crowd-funded billboard show protested the silencing of environmental voices by the Harper Government. James is the author of the illustrated book, Bothered by My Green Conscience, and a member of the Writers Union of Canada, PEN Canada and CARFAC. She has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria and lives in Toronto. For more information see: http://www.frankejames.com. Franke on Twitter: http://twitter.com/frankejames

More background and support information (links, research papers and news reports) for What Is Harper Afraid Of?

Brains? Or dirty oil money? Seems like Big Oil lobbyists are hungry for both. (Photo: Daniel Hollister/flickr)

Keystone XL Gulf Coast Segment – TransCanada Corporation

No, you didn’t misread that. If KXL is the zombie pipeline, this project is the severed arm moving on its own accord. The Gulf Coast Segment would be a scaled-down section of the original KXL proposal that begins at Cushing, Oklahoma and ends at oil refineries in Port Arthur, Texas. Because it doesn’t cross an international border, TransCanada is likely to claim it doesn’t need a Presidential Permit, which would mean that Obama doesn’t get to make an executive decision on the merits of the case.

According to landowners in Texas, TransCanada is planning to start digging trenches for the pipeline through their land as early as next month, even though the company hasn’t secured the necessary state and federal permits. Considering how much heat the company has already caught for bullying landowners, you would think they learned their lesson. Apparently not.

Seaway Reversal – Enbridge Inc. and Enterprise Product Partners

Enbridge is another major North American pipeline company whose name you may have heard: they were responsible for last summer’s massive tar sands spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River. The Seaway pipeline is already built, and follows a path similar to the KXL Gulf Coast Segment. But right now, the oil flows north from Texas to storage tanks in Cushing, where it eventually reaches Midwestern consumers. Enbridge recently bought 50% of this pipeline and plans to reverse the flow to send oil south from Cushing to the Gulf Coast. News of the change sent a shockwave through the oil markets and increased the cost of West Texas Intermediate crude (which is the benchmark for US oil prices).

Flanagan South – Enbridge Inc.

The Flanagan South pipeline would link Cushing (and the Seaway pipeline) to Enbridge’s existing system near Chicago. The Chicago area is already home to several tar sands refineries and the industry is rolling along even in the face of public resistance.

In case you’re wondering why Cushing, Oklahoma, is so important: the town is a major oil hub supplied in part by the first Keystone tar sands pipeline, built in 2010. Oil reserves there have built up because there aren’t enough pipelines to get Cushing oil to the Gulf Coast for export, and TransCanada’s own documents make it clear why they want to build a link:

“Access to the [U.S. Gulf Coast] via the Keystone XL Pipeline is expected to strengthen Canadian crude oil pricing in PADD II [the Midwestern states] by removing this oversupply. This is expected to increase the price of heavy crude to the equivalent cost of imported crude.” (From TransCanada’s project application to the Canadian government)

Kinder Morgan--like TransCanada and Enbridge--has seen its share of disaster. This 2008 explosion at their terminal in Pasadena, TX was just one of many incidents over the last decade. (Photo: Christopher Ebdon/flickr)

Northern Gateway – Enbridge Inc.

The Northern Gateway project is Canada’s version of Keystone XL, a multi-billion dollar project that’s become a national controversy, due to Enbridge’s nasty track record and their insistence that the pipeline cut across native tribes’ land. In fact, united opposition by First Nations indigenous groups has effectively stalled out the pipeline, which would bring oil west from Alberta’s tar sands to the Pacific port of Kitimat, British Columbia. But Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a major proponent of both the Northern Gateway and Keystone XL, and has made construction a priority for his administration.

Trans Mountain Pipeline – Kinder Morgan Energy Partners

Kinder Morgan is moving forward to significantly expand its Trans Mountain Pipeline, which runs from Edmonton to Vancouver. In addition to the many dangers of tar sands mining and transport, the expansion would also triple the amount of supertanker traffic in Puget Sound, requiring port expansion and dredging which will impact local communities and wildlife. Many Big Oil insiders consider this an easier project than the Northern Gateway pipeline, despite opposition from the public and regional mayors. 

Trailbreaker – Enbridge, Inc.

Trailbreaker is the Northeast’s version of the Seaway project – it would reverse the flow of existing pipelines to send tar sands oil from Ontario to Portland, Maine, via Vermont and New Hampshire. Like Keystone XL, Trailbreaker crosses an international border and would therefore likely require a Presidential permit. While this project would face stiff opposition, the fact that it could transport a quarter million barrels annually makes it worth keeping a wary eye on.

Stay Tuned…

National Wildlife Federation is committed to fighting tar sands and other dirty fuels, and we scored a big win with President Obama’s rejection of the KXL permit. But it’s clear that Big Oil will keep lurching forward with efforts to get their product overseas, so don’t throw away your shovels and baseball bats just yet.

 Urge President Obama to stand strong to protect wildlife against Big Oil.

For more info on tar sands impacts on wildlife and human health, visit www.NWF.org/tarsands