August 15, 2012 - 3:15 PM
VANCOUVER - The panel reviewing the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline between B.C. and Alberta wants a copy of a scathing report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board into a massive oil spill in Michigan.
The panel asks for a copy of the report in a 20-page request for information from the pipeline proponent, Calgary-based Enbridge (TSX:ENB).
U.S. investigators likened Enbridge's response to the July 2010 spill in the Kalamazoo River to a "Keystone Kops" comedy, saying the company missed opportunities to prevent the spill and then bungled the response.
The panel also asks Enbridge to show how the preventative measures they propose for the 1,700-kilometre pipeline across northern B.C. relate to the recommendations set out in the report.
Three million litres of crude leaked into the river in Michigan, which only reopened to fishing and swimming in June, two years after the spill.
The panel — which has until the end of next year to complete its review — is also looking for more details from Enbridge about insurance coverage in the event of damage from the pipeline.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012