For Immediate Release
Contact: Eddie Scher, 415-977-5758
November 28, 2012
Sierra Club Statement on Enbridge Tar Sands Pipeline Application:
Reversal of Line 9B
[Washington, DC] Yesterday the oil company Enbridge Pipelines submitted an
application to the Canadian government to reverse and expand the capacity of the 40
year old Line 9 oil pipeline to carry Alberta tar sands and other crude oil from Sarnia,
Ontario to Montreal, Quebec. This is the first leg of larger plans to connect this line to
the Portland-Montreal pipeline which would take this tar sands sludge through Vermont,
New Hampshire, and out to the coasts of Maine.
Sierra Club beyond oil campaign Washington representative, Lena Moffit
released the following statement in response:
“Tar sands is the dirtiest oil on Earth, and increasing public pressure to stop tar sands
pipelines in Canada and the US is taking its toll on the industry.
“Enbridge has pursued an eastern tar sands pipeline scheme for years, evading the
truth about their intentions. But with their plan to reverse this nearly 40 year-old pipeline,
there is no denying the company’s piecemeal plan to cobble together a system to bring
tar sands across Canada and three New England states to reach the Atlantic coast.
“The US and Canadian governments both have environmental and safety review
requirements for projects that threaten water quality, human health, and climate impacts
on such a massive scale. It’s time both governments look carefully at the safety record
of Enbridge, the risks to communities on both sides of the border, and the climate
implications of tar sands development before this pipeline project is approved.”
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