BP: On the move . . . ACTION REQUIRED!!

[Oscar]

Breaking: BP quietly moving oil rig to start drilling offshore Nova Scotia!

[ https://canadians.org/blog/breaking-bp- ... ova-scotia ]

April 5, 2018 - 9:08 pm

Right now, BP – the Big Oil giant behind the Deepwater Horizon disaster and largest spill ever recorded – is quietly moving a massive oil rig to offshore Nova Scotia

Your voice is urgently needed. The Council of Canadians has just learned that Big Oil giant BP is in the process of moving a massive oil rig to offshore Nova Scotia where it has received approval from the Canadian government to begin drilling exploratory wells. [ http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia ... ing-at-smu ]

BP could start drilling just days from now – and the risk of an environmental disaster is simply too great for you and me to ignore.

To make matters worse, BP is on the move without obtaining a final permit from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB), an unelected board of mostly former oil industry executives with a conflicting mandate of both promoting oil and gas development and protecting the marine environment. This is the same board that would be given more power in federal environmental assessments under Bill C-69, currently being debated.

So I’m urgently writing to ask you to please add your name to our national petition calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to reverse the federal approval of BP’s offshore drilling.

Sign the petition
[ https://secure.canadians.org/page/20746/petition/1 ]

If the name BP sounds familiar it’s for good reason. It’s the same company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico – the largest marine oil spill ever recorded.

Now BP is eyeing new sources of oil offshore Nova Scotia and has federal approval to drill nearly twice the depth of the Deepwater Horizon well.

A spill would be devastating to area marine life, and the fishing and tourism industries that are the lifeblood of Nova Scotia’s economy. For example, BP intends to drill 70 km east of the Gully Marine Protected Area and 50 km Northeast of Sable Island National Park, threatening endangered species like the Right Whale and thousands of sustainable fishery and tourism jobs.

The risk is even greater offshore Nova Scotia, where stopping and containing a ruptured well is made more difficult by virtue of the harsher conditions of the North Atlantic.

In January, the Trump administration proposed opening almost all U.S. federal waters to similar offshore oil and gas drilling. Both Democrats and Republicans from 12 Atlantic coastal states, including almost all of Nova Scotia’s closest American neighbours, have unanimously opposed the proposal citing unacceptable risk.

This is a national issue that needs your urgent attention. You can help right now by signing our national petition and amplifying the call on our federal government to step in and stop this. [ https://secure.canadians.org/page/20746/petition/1 ]

The Council of Canadians South Shore chapter and staff have been a leading voice in this fight since we first learned of BP’s plans. We just finished a hard-hitting coastal speaking tour in Nova Scotia featuring independent experts providing evidence of the serious risks offshore drilling presents to sustainable fisheries, tourism, clean water and our climate. Here’s what we know:

• BP is on the path to making similar mistakes as they did in the Gulf Coast spill, including an oil spill plan that may use the toxic Corexit (a chemical dispersant) and failing to have a capping stack located nearby – in fact, the closest is in Norway!

• BP isn’t the only Big Oil company seeking to drill offshore Nova Scotia. Norway’s Statoil is also pursuing approval to drill and potentially many more.

• There is a renaissance of sustainable fisheries and tourism in Nova Scotia, and the jobs created by those industries are critical to local economies.

• Many Nova Scotians and Canadians beyond are still unaware that offshore drilling is proceeding despite widespread lack of public awareness and a growing opposition among those who are aware.

• Pursuing risky offshore drilling is inconsistent with Canada’s commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement.

You and I can’t sit by and let BP start drilling with so much at risk. But we must act with urgency.

In addition to our national petition, the Council of Canadians is busily working to hire an independent expert to provide evidence on the risks of offshore drilling in Nova Scotia that challenges the BP project approval. And we’re building municipal and grassroots opposition through petitions, social media, rallies, education materials and presentations.

But you can help right now by adding your voice on this critical issue.

Sign the petition:
[ https://secure.canadians.org/page/20746/petition/1 ]

Andrea Harden-Donahue's blog
Energy & climate justice campaigner
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/andrea-harden-donahue ]

[Oscar]

BP Rig en Route to Offshore Drill Nova Scotia: Are we the next Gulf Coast disaster?

[ https://canadians.org/media/bp-rig-rout ... ova-scotia ]

Media Release April 5, 2018

PETITION: Offshore drilling not worth the risk
[ https://secure.canadians.org/page/20746/petition/1 ]


K’JIPUKTUK/HALIFAX – Nova Scotians are expressing alarm at news that BP commissioned rig West Aquarius is now en route to drill offshore, despite not having final approval from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB).

“This is the height of regulatory capture,” says John Davis, Director of Clean Ocean Action Committee. “It is costing BP $260,000 a day to move this rig, why would they do that unless they are sure the Board is ready to give the green light.”

This comes on the heels of the CNSOPB’s failed public engagement exercise denounced by the Offshore Alliance, a growing association of over twenty Nova Scotia fisheries, environmental, and citizens’ organizations. Instead of holding public hearings, which should be required before industry projects are given the go-ahead, the CNSOPB through its PR staff suggested on short notice a facilitated 45 minute “sharing circle” for all 8-12 invited “stakeholder groups.” [ https://canadians.org/media/cnsopb-publ ... ement-sham ]

“I’m disgusted by this process,” reflects Mi’kmaq treaty rights holder Michelle Paul, who spoke at a public town hall [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plTAUj-XseA ] organized by the Council of Canadians on the significant risks of offshore drilling. “Grassroots treaty rights holders did not agree to allow BP to come drill in our waters.” [ https://canadians.org/NS-offshore-tour ]

“BP is claiming to have learned lessons from the Gulf Coast disaster,” adds Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Program Director of Sierra Club Canada Foundation. “Why then is the closest capping stack in Norway meaning it will take close to two weeks to arrive here? Why are they proposing to use Corexit, the same chemical dispersant used after the Gulf spill that has since been found toxic to humans, wildlife and vegetation?”

According to an article featured on AllNovaScotia, the BP rig is set to drill the Aspy D-11 drilling site, which is located 70 km east of the Gully Marine Protected Area and 50 km Northeast of Sable Island National Park. You can follow path of the West Aquarius rig at http://www.marinetraffic.com.

“Our economic livelihood is completely wrapped up in fishing. Any danger to that is not worth the risk,” says David Levy, Deputy Warden of the Municipality of the District of Shelburne.

“We’ve already seen a near miss in 2016 when Shell Canada dropped two kilometres of pipe, landing 12 metres from a wellhead while attempting to drill in harsh weather off Nova Scotia. Our Government is gambling with good jobs in the fishery that depend on a healthy Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy,” adds Colin Sproul, Vice-President, Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen's Association.

In 2016 the export value of Nova Scotia seafood approached 2 billion dollars. The industry is one of the province’s biggest job creators and an important contribution to GDP. More importantly, the fishery is a truly renewable resource that deposits value directly into our coastal communities. A few royalty cheques with huge risks attached are not worth the danger to the fishery and all of our futures.

“BP wants to drill up to twice the depths of the well that caused the worst oil spill in world history in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Marion Moore of the Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia. “This risk is being rejected by our U.S. Atlantic neighbours from the grassroots communities to the attorneys general. This risk is unacceptable here too.”

Following a proposal from President Trump to open up Atlantic offshore drilling, Republican and Democratic attorneys general of 12 coastal states wrote a strong letter rejecting offshore drilling off their coasts. [ http://ncdoj.gov/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx? ... lang=en-US ]

For more information:

John Davis, Director, Clean Ocean Action Committee
902-499-4421, jbdavis@eco-nova.com

Angela Giles, Atlantic regional organizer, The Council of Canadians
902-478-5727, agiles@canadians.org

Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Program Director, Sierra Club Canada Foundation
902-444-7096, gretchenf@sierraclub.ca

PETITION: Offshore drilling not worth the risk
[ https://secure.canadians.org/page/20746/petition/1 ]


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