Ensuring local Indigenous reps are involved quickly after an oil spill like the one in Abbotsford last week is a key part of B次元官网网址渞econciliation and environmental justice,B次元官网网址� says the director general for the David Suzuki Foundation.
The crude oil spill from the Trans Mountain pipeline at the Sumas Pump Station is a stark reminder that accidents are bound to happen with this type of fossil fuel infrastructure.
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B次元官网网址淎s long as Canada continues to transport oil, spills will happen - and they will always create the risk of detrimental impacts on nature and people,B次元官网网址� said Jay Ritchlin of the David Suzuki Foundation.
The spill site is near a cultural site and burial grounds of the Sema:th First Nation and St蠈:l艒 Coast Salish Peoples.
ItB次元官网网址檚 seen as B次元官网网址渦nacceptableB次元官网网址� that Sema:th First NationB次元官网网址檚 monitors were not cleared to access the site for 12 hours after the spill incident was reported.
Full transparency and inclusion of Indigenous nations whenever any type of spill occurs is called for.
B次元官网网址淭hey need to have continuous access to monitoring stations and the ability to see with their own eyes what has occurred on their unceded territory. This is a key part of reconciliation and environmental justice.B次元官网网址�
A rapid transition away from B次元官网网址渢his toxic and outdated fuel,B次元官网网址� to protect wildlife like salmon and orca, combat the climate crisis and maintain the well-being of our communities is necessary, he noted.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 concerning that the spill occurred where a lake used to exist and where the groundwater is a local potable water source,B次元官网网址� Ritchlin said.
The spill leaked 1,195 barrels, which is up to 190,000 litres, of oil just south of the Lightning Rock site. As much as five large trucks would be required to transport the equivalent amount of crude oil.
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Trans Mountain has reported approximately 84 spills since 1961 - which is more than one a year.
In this case, the oil flowed to an adjacent field owned by Trans Mountain and leased for agricultural uses. The companyB次元官网网址檚 on-site monitoring has not indicated an immediate threat but provincial authorities need to confirm that.
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