QUEBEC CITY -- The Enbridge pipeline reversal project has received the approval of the PQ government after hearings on the project ended this week.
Enbridge wants to reverse the flow of oil on the pipeline between Sarnia and Montreal, bringing Alberta crude to Quebec refineries.
The government, however, has 18 conditions. They include a request the Enbridge company allow an independent expert to evaluate the 38-year-old pipeline and that the company takes special precautions where the pipeline passes near Montreal’s drinking water supply.
It also wants the company to guarantee clean-up funds should there be a disaster. An Enbridge pipeline spilled 3.3 million litres of oil in Michigan in 2010.
The ultimate green light on the project must come from Ottawa. The National Energy Board is expected to approve or deny the project in March.
If it says yes, the pipeline could be reversed in one year, a prospect the PQ said will help protect 51,000 Quebec jobs.
