–by Janet Alderton, Vice-President of the Friends of the San Juans —
On September 5, 2018 San Juan County Council and the Islands’ Trust of British Columbia sent an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.This letter urges him to reconsider his decision to triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. The Friends of the San Juans are grateful to councilors Rick Hughes, Jamie Stephens, and Bill Watson for working with the Islands’ Trust representatives to craft this powerful letter that describes the threats posed by 400 additional oil tankers passing through our island waters each year.
Our councilors’ letter conveys our deep connection to the islands of the Salish Sea and the marine life surrounding us. A major spill of tar sands diluted bitumen on the route traveled by oil tankers would not only threaten sensitive environments where salmon and orca whales struggle to survive, but also threaten islanders’ jobs and property. We thank our county council leaders for actively protecting the land, sea, and amazing natural beauty of the Salish Sea region with their eloquent and powerful letter.
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Thanks, Councilors, for writing this letter on behalf of the San Juan Islands community and the coastal and marine people and creatures who share and want to protect the Salish Sea. The pipelines would be disastrous for Burrard Inlet and all of our waters; rivers, lakes, seas. The pipeline would twin and come down through Washington to be exported in 4 places, including Anacortes. B.C. is fighting a good fight; we need to stand with and support them however we can.
The exports would be in the form of raw bitumen; it corrodes pipelines much faster than the usual “expected” 40 years supposed “lifetime” of a pipeline – not including leaks, malfunctions, and spills. We can’t risk tankers of bitumen coming and going in the Salish Sea and all the potentialities, from invasive marine species to bunker fuel spills to dilbit spills.