Larsen: New B.C. Oil Pipeline is “Not Ready for Prime Time”

This press release from Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA) was published on 2026-10-07 and titled "Larsen: New B.C. Oil Pipeline is “Not Ready for Prime Time”".

Larsen: New B.C. Oil Pipeline is “Not Ready for Prime Time”

Last Friday, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) commented on the news that Canada is fast-tracking a new oil pipeline project that would increase oil tanker traffic in Larsen’s district: “This project is not ready for prime time, and speeding up the review process will only make that worse,” said Rep. Larsen in the Washington State Standard . “Canada’s plan to fast track this new oil pipeline project puts sensitive marine habitats at risk and raises the chance of a devastating spill occurring before the U.S. and Canada can put updated plans in place.” On July 2, the Government of Alberta announced a proposed new oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean that would transport 1 million barrels per day to an export terminal at Roberts Banks in British Columbia. Last Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney designated the pipeline, now known as the Pacific Link, as a project of national interest, enabling a speedier regulatory review that could see pipeline design and construction underway by next fall. The new pipeline will increase tanker traffic in Haro Strait and Boundary Bay in the Salish Sea, and with it the risks for catastrophic oil spills impacting sensitive marine environments. “The people I represent have serious concerns about this new pipeline and how it could harm the Salish Sea,” continued Rep. Larsen. “They deserve answers to their questions and updated spill response plans that account for more oil tanker traffic, and I will keep fighting to get them both." Last month, Rep. Larsen’s staff observed a joint exercise between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard designed to simulate response efforts and coordination between the two countries in the event of an oil spill in shared waters. “This type of collaboration across the border between the U.S. and Canada is even more critical because of Canada’s plans to ship more oil in the Salish Sea with the proposed new Alberta to B.C. pipeline,” said Rep. Larsen. “I have concerns about the potential impacts of this proposed pipeline, including on tanker traffic in the Salish Sea, and I am glad that my staff could observe the exercise to ensure that there are relationships and procedures in place that benefit both countries in the event of a disastrous spill.” Rep. Larsen is the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has oversight authority over the U.S. Coast Guard. In July, Rep. Larsen sent a letter to Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, Commandant of the Coast Guard, to insist that the Coast Guard review and update its oil spill preparedness plans in light of the new proposed pipeline. Larsen also pressed Coast Guard officials on their awareness of the new Canadian pipeline and how it would implicate existing oil spill prevention plans at a committee hearing. A video clip from that hearing can be found here , and the recording of the entire roundtable can be found here . The Washington State Standard article is available here and below. A proposed Canadian oil pipeline to a supertanker terminal at the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia is raising hackles among Washington state’s political leaders. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday designated the West Coast Oil Pipeline, now known as the Pacific Link , as a project of national interest. That enables a speedier regulatory review that could see pipeline design and construction under way by next fall. In response, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday sounded alarms about increased oil spill risk to the Salish Sea in his first public comments on the massive project. The Carney announcement wasn’t a surprise. In July, the prime minister and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith talked of fast-tracking the proposed 775-mile pipeline capable of carrying one million barrels of crude oil a day. It would run from the Edmonton region to a new export terminal capable of handling supertankers proposed for Port of Vancouver’s Roberts Bank in British Columbia just north of the U.S. border. Oil could flow through by the early 2030s . Once operating, many more oil-filled vessels traveling from the port would pass by the San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula on their way to Asia. Project critics fear a spill could easily reach north Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Washington’s outer coast, threatening sensitive ecosystems and killer whale habitat. Ferguson said Friday that he was “disappointed” at the decision because resources needed to respond to a major spill are insufficient today. “If a project of this scale is going to proceed, it needs to come with a corresponding commitment to also increase our region’s capacity to prevent and respond to a catastrophic spill,” he said in a joint statement with Casey Sixkiller, director of the state Department of Ecology. Ferguson said the size of the oil supertankers envisioned for the route are unprecedented, and have been barred from Washington ports since the 1970s. Their capacity of 92 million gal