It's about safety ,stupid

In October 1944 ,an LNG plant explosion ‘happened ’in Cleveland Ohio, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_East_Ohio_Gas_explosion. This disaster had a lengthy impact on the LNG sector of the natural gas industry.

Today, we boast that LNG can greatly help our economy--safely!

The time has come for the bitumen transport sector to respond to public/political pressure about some or our current OIL TRANSPORT issues ...that have yet have yet to be ‘resolved’,satisfactorily.

Do we need a bitumen tanker spill DISASTER or another Kalamazoo to help us better‘design’ our bitumen infrastructure?

I read that LNG ships are manned by highly skilled ,specially trained crews .Yet we intend to send HUGE bitumen loaded tankers into our coastal watereways.

Pick any location on our coastline and SHOW US how the shipping crews WILL cope with a MAJOR bitumen LEAK, from a tanker hung up on a reef in a howling gale;while we wait for many hours...or days to receive containment equipment.

UNTIL WE LEARN MUCH MORE , bitumen laden tankers should be permitted only in the COMMON SENSE locations... NOT BURRARD INLET...OR DOUGLAS CHANNEL..!

Our LNG cousins have been developing transport techniques for decades.

We need to be convinced that our bitumen transporter proponents give a damn...let’s see a ‘CULTURE of SAFETY’ in the Board rooms...

Canada has the world’s longest coastline and it’s time that those proposing a potential threat to that coastline present us only with ‘SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN’ leak recovery capabilities...

We may have golden opportunity here, to provide the shipping world with the ‘oil transport’ ocean science research leadership ... with the help our B.C. and Alberta universities and the other beneficiaries.

As Mr. Harper told us not long ago not long ago....’science ,NOT POLITICS, should help us to decide

Enbridge Culture--same old !

please see links below

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/14/enbridge-kalamazoo-river-oil-spill-clean-up_n_2879464.html

http://www.epa.gov/enbridgespill/ar/enbridge-AR-1718.pdf

(Recall that this pipe line failed July 26,2010 !!)

I wonder about Enbridge' culture, still. The new President gave some early signals that staff are to be rewarded for ‘safe practices; something like that?—and Al Monaco was also quoted ,in the press, saying Enbridge POSSIBLY might look at moving out of Douglas channel (soon after his appointment?).For a while things sounded hopeful—but as I see it ,nothing has changed—Janet Holder’s ubiquitous ads continue—and Enbridge sounds, to me, like the same old bunch.

I’d guess that your BC Government team would have seen the latest ‘peeing match ’ stuff going on with US EPA(see links above)—for a chuckle you might look at the Ron James’ Enbridge spoof??

Many times I’ve suggested that an OPERATIONS SAFETY EPIPHANY, by the full Board, would be welcomed--- I guess I’ll need to wait a bit longer??

Joe's back---poor Joe

http://www.vancouversun.com/Pipeline+exercise+hits+some+rough+water/8142736/story.html

As many have said—‘you can’t make this stuff up!'

Joe Oliver comes to town for a ‘photo op’ of BC’s pride of the clean up fleet! ...presumably to show the world how we intend to develop/create ‘a World Class Tanker Safety System’..Craig McInnes must have had difficulty writing this without the occasional fit of laughter...’slap stick’ for sure..

Questions

1.why is this critical piece equipment (the BURRARD Cleaner No. 9) kept in Esquimalt---I thought the congested oil tanker traffic was in Vancouver harbour??

2.we have had no serious oil spill situations –great but was that more a matter of dumb luck

3.this ‘pride of BC clean up vessel’ apparently ‘got lost’ on the way to Burrard Inlet...and goes aground on a Fraser river sand bar—slightly off course and apparently unable to operate the high tech sounder on board??

4.this incident reinforces the idea that ships rarely sink or founder unless assisted by the crew!

5.and on and on---No, this this not funny---but it is VERY SAD to see this Looney Tunes operation up close.

Poor Joe for sure...what can you say..

Remember your own famous words Mr. Harper—‘’science ,NOT POLITICS, should help us to decide...’

Are there any scientists left

Enbridge and Kinder Morgan need to listen

LNG projects ok ..

But, of immediate concern are ‘our’ wannabe OIL pipe liners –they need a ‘talking to’. The BC public’ requirements are ‘conveniently’ ignored by them... . Enbridge leaders have done nothing to convince me that they have CHANGED their OPERATIONS CULTURE to something we can accept —

Typically, pipelines don’t fail—PEOPLE FAIL PIPELINES-- a la Kalamazoo,Michigan and that infamous 40+ year ‘old’ pipeline.

Further,the BC public want the bitumen laden oil tankers OUT of Douglas Channel.

Let the Enbridge Board TELL us how they will change their organization and mandate if they want to operate in our province,today and 50 years hence,( pipelines DON’T IMPROVE with age)!What we want is for the folks sitting in those fancy leather covered chairs, around the big the mahogany table, to ‘COME OUT’ and face the public in open forums and CONVINCE US that they will change and tell HOW they propose to do that. Will we believe them—that’s up to them! Boards claim to be the stewards of their corporations—OK, show us your stewardship.

That ‘OTHER’ wannabe oil pipe liner has this insane idea that we should allow MORE and BIGGER bitumen laden super size oil tankers to wiggle their way through Burrard Inlet—go figure ??

Surely Premier Clark, you’re going to TELL Kinder Morgan to forget that crazy scheme.I’d guess that the Burrard Inlet Community residents (BICres) will support anyone that can talk some common sense into these ‘deaf’ oil pipe liners...

So Premier, call your colleagues(Premier Alison Redford and Prime Minister Stephen Harper) soon, and work out a plan to get these revenue generating oil pipelines built—BUT with fair consideration for the BC public !

OK?

Newfies show the way,,

 

Subject: Newfies show the way!

What’s going on?The press tells us that our East Coast cousins are looking at more offshore drilling ..and maybe Western sourced oil pipelines,etc.??---Meanwhile we lotus landers dither—and cry out,’no pipelines’,’no off shore exploration’,’oil tankers are feared’...

Recall the Ocean Ranger(East coast offshore oil exploration platform) disaster of 1982 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Ranger ) . Well I guess the East Coast leaders and oil folks have more confidence in their ability to learn from their experience and move on? Maybe we ‘lotus landers’ should just get ‘off the POT’!

Come on BC..let’s progress. Yes,we don’t want ‘yahoos’, running the show—but we’ll accept organizations that are willing to demonstrate their Corporate bona fides—starting at the top!

Point: Our natural resources have supplied Canadians and much of the world with valuable natural resources—we live with a relatively high standard of living as a result.There are risks and rewards—Those complaining are often the very same folks that want more ‘free government services’ but forget that those ‘free services’ arrive because of risk takers and hard working folks(you know—parents and grandparents!)

Yes—young people should challenge and demand answers—together the entrepreneurs ,leaders should be ‘steered’ into developing progressive new opportunities to create a better social environment.

Some will profit—some will lose---but progress stops when we give up trying.

The horse and buggy era sounds great—but who’s going to clean up that mess?

Get real Joe!

Subject: Get real Joe!

I see that Ottawa are proposing new environmental fines http://o.canada.com/2013/02/15/harper-government-proposes-new-fines-for-nuclear-and-pipeline-industries/..for pipelines and nuclear industries.Fines to be $25,000 for individuals and $100,000 for corporations(trivial,even laughable!)...to ensure resource development is ‘safe and responsible’ says Joe Oliver,Natural Resources Minister.

FINES don’t stop pipeline leaks—PEOPLE stop pipeline leaks.

Start with Corporations that implement sound operations,maintenance and training plans for their all their PEOPLE that operate and maintain pipeline, facilities.

See ‘Summary of Enbridge Organizational Deficiencies’(per final U.S. NTSB report).

“Although these deficiencies involved different elements of Enbridge’s operations, and

may appear unrelated, taken together they suggest a systemic deficiency in the company’s APPROACH TO SAFETY”

Our lawmakers must insist that pipe liner organizations include an organizational structure that addresses ‘system operations safety’ as a public responsibility. The board provides STEWARDSHIP we’re told . Enbridge’ recent history suggests that there’s lots of work to be done to clarify who should be looking after pipeline operations.

Suggestion: Create a Corporate Technical Officer (CTO) and let the CTO sit at Board meetings to keep the Board apprised of ‘areas of concern’ and what actions are required to maintain a sound,safe system—on new AND older systems.The CTO, (along with a team of operations and technical experts),becomes responsible to monitor and report and the Board then becomes accountable to LISTEN and then ACT—by approving and implementing necessary action.That’s what I would call Stewardship.

Come on Enbridge show us the new Corporate Mission Statement that spells out exactly how your Board and Organization has changed –particularly your new APPROACH TO SAFETY.

Then the public and decision makers may start to look favourably at your Northern Gateway proposal.

Get real Joe—try TELLING these all wannabe pipe liners(Enbridge and Kinder Morgan,etc.) to commit fully to the safety culture WE REQUIRE.

OR, call for new proposals!

 

Enbridge culture of safety?

Is there a lingering distrust of the Enbridge Operating Chiefs--- the folks in the Boardroom.

Look at what we heard during U.S. NTSB hearings after the (Enbridge) Kalamazoo,Michigan pipeline fiasco. http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/p21799/81081E.pdf

The NTSB sums up “Although these deficiencies involved different elements of Enbridge’s operations, and

may appear unrelated, taken together they suggest a systemic deficiency in the company’s approach to safety; p.114”

What has Enbridge done to convince us that they’ll operate differently on the Northern Gateway pipeline ... two , ten , or 50 years hence?

Yes- there’s lot’s of talk in the ubiquitous Enbridge ads, from Janet Holder, about how ‘wonderful things will be’ on the new pipeline......but as another lady once said ‘WHERE’S the BEEF?

Management often will fall back onto an old ‘dodge’ , “we followed all the regulations and standards of the day” . However, ultimately, the ‘buck’ has to stop somewhere—if the Board was not responsible for the Kalamazoo, Michigan incident---then WHO WAS?

Leaders don’t follow standards, they set the standard—continually;during construction and thereafter.

I don’t know the ‘fix’ for Enbridge ‘public image’ ---but somehow we need to hear and see something convincing ; not from Janet Holder—but from the full Board of Directors—show us how you’ve changed your organization and ‘culture’.

I’m hoping to see an Operations Safety Epiphany by the Enbridge Board...I suggest that a Board affirmation that operations safety will be dealt with purposefully –as ‘a priority and continually’; would be welcomed by the decision makers and the public, even at this late date.