SUNCOR tar sands tankers threaten UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

[Oscar]

Suncor sneaks tar sands tankers into St. Lawrence and Great Lakes

[ http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/making- ... reat-lakes ]

By Emma Lui | October 9, 2014

Suncor is setting a precedent around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin with its new shipments of bitumen on the St. Lawrence River. On September 24, the first ever tanker to ship bitumen on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin left the port of Sorel-Tracey in Quebec. The tanker, the Minerva-Gloria, carried an estimated 700,000 barrels of bitumen to Sardinia, Italy which arrived on Tuesday at 4:22 p.m. local time. A second tanker, the Genmar Daphne, is expected to arrive in Sorel on Sunday, October 12 where it will be loaded, travel along the St. Lawrence River and transport another load of Alberta bitumen to Italy. There are plans to ship 20 to 30 vessels like this each year along the St. Lawrence River.

A spill would have catastrophic effects on this waterway that millions of people rely on for drinking water.

Transport Canada and the government of Quebec approved these shipments without a thorough environmental assessment, public consultation and free, prior and informed consent of indigenous communities and municipalities. The Council of Canadians opposes these shipments because of the risk they pose to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. Many other organizations, communities and First Nations are also deeply concerned about the threat of bitumen shipments on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. These shipments set a dangerous precedent and present an increased threat to the waters of the Basin.

Every day, energy giant Suncor transports bitumen via CN Rail from Alberta to a storage space in Quebec operated by Kildair Services. Given the train derailment in Wadena, Saskatchewan on Tuesday and the catastrophe in Lac Mégantic last summer, the transport of hazardous materials by rail poses an increased risk to many communities along the route.

MORE:

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/making- ... reat-lakes ]

[Oscar]

After Minerva Gloria oil shipment, UNESCO urged to protect World Biosphere Reserve

[ http://canadians.org/media/after-minerv ... re-reserve ]

Media Release October 21, 2014

After the Minerva Gloria transported the first-ever supertanker shipment of Alberta bitumen down the St. Lawrence River, the Council of Canadians urged the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to intervene to protect the Lac-Saint-Pierre World Biosphere Reserve which finds itself on the sea route. [ http://biospherelac-st-pierre.qc.ca/content/index.html ]

In the past, UNESCO has intervened to protect world heritage sites. In one instance, they determined that mining close to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef would damage the site. [ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ining-boom ]

“These shipments of Alberta tar sands oil travel too close for comfort to one of Quebec and Canada’s natural wonders,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson for the Council of Canadians, “We are very concerned about what a spill would do to Lac-Saint-Pierre and surrounding waterways.”

The Lac-Saint-Pierre Biosphere Reserve, established in 2000, is located on the St. Lawrence River, east of Montreal, between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières. [ http://biospherelac-st-pierre.qc.ca/content/index.html ]

On September 24, Suncor shipped 700,000 barrels of heavy crude from the port of Sorel-Tracy past Lac Saint-Pierre to Sardinia, Italy. [ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ ... -1.2774225 ] The vessel, the 250-metre-long and 44-metre-wide Minerva Gloria, carried bitumen from the port – originally transported from the Alberta tar sands to Quebec by rail - through the shallow and narrow inland portion of Lac-Saint-Pierre. A second vessel headed to Sorel to pick up the second load of bitumen was prohibited from departing because of defective fire equipment. [ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ ... -1.2798051 ]

With 90 per cent of its territory in a natural state, Lac-St-Pierre would be devastated by a spill. Mayors along the St. Lawrence River, including the Sorel-Tracey mayor Serge Péloquin, have warned that they do not have the technical and financial capacity to clean up a spill. Despite federal rules that require oil companies to have the ability to deal with a spill of 10,000 tonnes of oil, the Minerva Gloria carried 15 times that amount on the river.

The letter, written by National Chairperson Maude Barlow and Executive Director Garry Neil, warns that any accident threatens Lac Saint-Pierre’s World Biosphere and Ramsar site recognition.

The letter states: “We urge you to intervene and to stop Suncor’s tar sands vessels in order to protect the Lac Saint-Pierre Biosphere Reserve. We have called upon Canadian and Quebec officials to conduct a thorough environmental assessment and conduct community consultations.”

For more information: [ http://canadians.org/blog/suncor-sneaks ... ommunities ]

Read the letter here: [ http://canadians.org/sites/default/file ... -10-14.pdf ]. -30-

[Oscar]

Council of Canadians celebrates stoppage of tar sands shipments on the St. Lawrence River

[ http://canadians.org/blog/council-canad ... ence-river ]

November 7, 2014 - 11:14am

The Council of Canadians celebrates the news that Suncor tar sands shipments on the St. Lawrence River from Sorel-Tracy, Quebec have been suspended indefinitely.

On October 21, we sent a letter to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to ask them to intervene against supertankers on the St. Lawrence River. [ http://canadians.org/media/after-minerv ... re-reserve ] That's because these tar sands tankers pass through the nearby Lac Saint-Pierre, a body of water designated a World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations in 2000. And on October 26, Council of Canadians water campaigner Emma Lui and I joined a protest with several thousand people in Sorel-Tracy in opposition to these shipments. [ http://canadians.org/blog/council-canad ... ence-river ]

CBC Radio Canada now reports (in French), "Convoys of [oil-by-rail] trains and stockpiling oil [in Sorel-Tracy] will cease for an indefinite period [due to the low price of oil]. Kildair, the company [that operates the storage facility and supertanker loading facility on the St. Lawrence River] has been advised of this business decision [by Calgary-based Suncor]." [ http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/so ... nvoi.shtml ]

The article notes, "Yesterday, Western Canadian Select [the price that tar sands crude is sold at] was trading at US $61.78. At the end of September, it was trading at US$82. ...According to Jacques Simon, a professor of commodity trading and finance at the University of Moncton, it costs US$10 per barrel for Alberta crude to travel to Sorel-Tracy by rail, in addition to US$3 per barrel for transportation by ship to a refinery in Louisiana." In an October 18 campaign blog The dangerous equations of the price of oil we anticipated this temporary suspension of shipments noting that the break-even point for tar sands bitumen is $65-70 a barrel. [ http://canadians.org/blog/dangerous-equations-price-oil ]

Le Journal de Quebec adds (in French), "However, the markets are volatile and nothing precludes a rise in crude prices and a resumption of oil shipments from Suncor Kildair. The mayor of Sorel-Tracy, Serge Peloquin, therefore remains on guard. 'It is not because they are taking a break as we must pause', he told a local radio station. Several city councilors in Tracy are also increasingly demanding that the Bureau of Public Hearing on the environment (BAPE) examine Kildair [over complaints about odours and health concerns]." [ http://www.journaldequebec.com/2014/11/ ... du-petrole ]

Suncor has said it plans to send 20-30 tankers filled with bitumen from the port of Sorel-Tracy each year. On September 24, the Minerva Gloria left this port loaded with 700,000 barrels of bitumen on board destined for the island of Sardinia. Then on October 23, the Genmar Daphne departed the port filled with bitumen bound for the Gulf of Mexico.

Dozens of municipalities along the river have said they are unprepared should there be a tanker spill and a committee of experts has found that only 5-20 per cent of an oil spill could be recovered from the water.

The Council of Canadians will continue to organize against any tar sands tanker shipments on the St. Lawrence River.

Brent Patterson
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson