108th Year - Week 2
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
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WELCOME THE CUP The Stanley Cup is coming to town.
SPORTS/A5
JOURNEY TO AFRICA Local teacher travels to Africa with charity.
OUR TOWN/A11
CARVING OUT THE SLOPES Tosh Krauskopf carves out the slopes of Hudson Bay Mountain during the Smithers Ski and Snowboard Club’s annual Shamrock Cup competition last weekend. For the full story, see page A5 and for a list of the winners, visit www.interior-news.com. Kendra Wong photo
“A GENTLE SPIRIT” Hazelton remembers man killed in transit police shooting.
THREE RIVERS/A25
INSIDE SPORTS LETTERS OUR TOWN COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS THREE RIVERS
A5 A7 A11 A12 A19 A25
Minister defends regulation to stop oil flowing in LNG pipelines By Alicia Bridges Smithers/Interior News
Minister of Natural Gas Development Rich Coleman has defended a new regulation which prohibits the conversion of LNG pipelines for transporting oil amid claims it could be easily reversed unless it is legislated. On Jan. 6 the B.C. government enforced a new regulation forbidding companies from converting natural gas infrastructure to transport oil or diluted bitumen. The new measure, established under the Oil and Gas Activities Act,
see last page in A
prohibits the BC Oil and Gas Commission from approving LNG pipeline conversions. Six proposed pipelines will be subject to the regulation, including Spectra’s Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission Project and TransCanada’s Prince Rupert Gas Transmission and Coastal GasLink pipelines. It will also apply to the Pacific Trail Pipelines, Pacific Northern Gas Looping and Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas projects. The regulation was a response to First Nations concerns that permitting LNG development
could open the doors for companies to use pipelines to transport oil without needing further permissions. Coleman said it prevented industry from simply adjusting permits to move to oil, ensuring economic growth was developed responsibly. “Any conversion of a pipeline without an OGC permit would be a violation of the Oil and Gas Activities Act, and enforcement actions would follow,” he said. The announcement came with the endorsement of Moricetown Band chief Barry Nikal, who said it helped allay the community’s environmental
concerns. “This regulation provides our community with peace of mind so that we can focus on discussing the benefits that natural gas will bring without worry that oil will flow through the pipelines,” he said. But Stikine MLA Doug Donaldson, who introduced a private member’s bill restricting LNG pipeline conversions in the legislature last November, said the regulation was too easy to reverse. He said Minister Coleman specifically said restrictions on pipeline conversions would be introduced as legislation at a public forum in
Moricetown last April. “In April of 2014 I witnessed Minister Coleman at a public forum in Moricetown saying that they would deal with this topic through legislation,” Donaldson said. “Lo and behold, instead of legislation, when it came down to it they introduced a regulation to prohibit the transmission of diluted bitumen in natural gas pipelines. “The reason that’s not good enough is that regulation can be created or destroyed behind closed doors at the whim of the cabinet and at the signature of a cabinet minister.” See LEGISLATION on A2
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