Proposed Vancouver bylaw would require companies shipping oil by tanker to carry enough marine insurance to pay for spill

Vancouver city council is considering a bylaw proposal put forward by Mayor Gregor Robertson to have companies that ship oil by tanker to carry enough marine insurance to cover costs should a spill occur.

If passed, the bylaw would require pipeline operators and oil tankers using Burrard Inlet, Vancouver Harbour and/or the Fraser River to “indemnify the City of Vancouver and existing local industries through appropriate liability insurance at a level equal to the projected amount of clean-up operation costs, and loss of business compensation for a worst-case scenario oil spill.”

Robertson has said taxpayers should not be on the hook for the potentially enormous costs flowing from an oil spill in any of the three areas. Vancouver taxpayers expect the full cost of any oil tanker or pipeline mishap would be borne by the industry, the motion notes.

The proposed bylaw change follows a recent announcement by Kinder Morgan that it would seek approval to double capacity of its pipeline. The company owns the Trans Mountain pipeline that carries crude oil from the Alberta tar sands to its Westridge Terminal in Burrard Inlet.

Carrying both conventional oil and bitumen diluted with volatile solvents, it is estimated tanker traffic will increase five-fold from the level of 71 vessels in 2010, the motion notes. Increased oil tanker traffic “poses an unacceptable and unmitigated risk to Vancouver’s economy and environment.”