BOMB: RCMP buoyed by new leads in B.C. pipeline bombings
By Becky Rynor, Renata D'Aliesio and Dan Healing
Canwest News Service
July 6, 2009
 Crews from EnCana work to stop the flow of gas in a wellhead in northeastern B.C. that was caused by bomb blast on Nov. 1, 2008, seen here in this file photo. A similar blast occurred July 4, 2009, at an EnCana Corp. site in Pouce Coupe, B.C., about eight kilometres south of Dawson Creek. This is the sixth bombing — and the second in a week — of natural gas infrastructure in northeastern B.C. Photograph by: Kit Fast, Peace photoGraphics file photo |
Investigators probing a series of bombings that have hit EnCana Corp. gas pipelines in northeastern British Columbia — which RCMP have called acts of "domestic terrorism" — say they're encouraged by several new leads.
"The biggest thing is, we've been receiving some phone tips, and we're following up on those," RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said Monday.
"Prior to the last two incidents, we weren't getting that much from the public. With these two latest incidents, as a result of the messaging we put out and the concern from the public . . . people have started phoning in."
EnCana spokeswoman Rhona Delfrari welcomed the news.
"We are relying on the police," she said. "We definitely hope they get some leads, and it's very encouraging if people are calling in and providing tips because, really, it's the whole community that's being targeted now."
On Saturday morning, EnCana officials were alerted to an explosion on a company site near the community of Pouce Coupe, B.C., just south of Dawson Creek, after a concerned resident in the area reported a loud bang.
The blast released a small amount of toxic hydrogen sulphide.
Delfrari said the drop in pressure set off an alarm and the pipeline was automatically shut down. She added most of the pipelines operated by EnCana have the same capability.
There have now been six bomb attacks on EnCana pipelines in the region, dating back to mid-October 2008, when an explosion ripped out a two-metre crater under a pipeline near the hamlet of Tomslake, B.C., about 30 kilometres south of Dawson Creek.
The bombings started shortly after a threatening letter was anonymously sent to EnCana, telling the company get out of the area.
Subsequent bomb attacks have drawn ever closer to populated areas around the Tomslake community, close to the B.C.-Alberta border.
EnCana has offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.
Dawson Creek Mayor Mike Bernier said EnCana employees and security had already been in the area, working to repair a pipeline damaged in a previous explosion on July 1. That blast released a quantity of non-toxic gas.
Dawson Creek is about 600 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
Premier Ed Stelmach said Monday the Alberta government is working with oil and gas companies to ensure their work sites are properly protected.
"It's very disconcerting, obviously, not only to the immediate residents but to us here in Alberta," the premier said at his annual Stampede breakfast in Calgary.
"We've had reasonable peace when it comes to oil and gas development, and this is most unfortunate because according to the RCMP, it is putting lives at risk," he said.
"We're going to be working with the oil and gas companies, as we have done in the past, to put in place the kind of security that is necessary to protect the public."
Stelmach said Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight were expected to receive a further briefing on the latest incidents.
Brenda Kenny, president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, said the industry is confident the police are doing what they can but solving the case may require a timely tip from a neighbour.
"Any time you're seeing this kind of sabotage, your first concern is the safety of the workers and the public," she said. "Obviously, there's somebody out there who has taken the law into their own hands and they're running the risk of hurting themselves very badly. It's an abhorrent situation."
On Sunday, Bernier warned it was "just a matter of time" before the rash of bombing attacks on natural-gas pipelines ended in death or injury.
The mayor urged members of the public to come forward, saying he's convinced "somebody" in the region "knows something" that could lead police to a suspect.
"I think, with the endangerment to EnCana workers that were on the ground, these are somebody's family members, and that may have raised the ire of the community," Moskaluk said Monday. "This is a form of domestic terrorism."
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
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Posted by Arthur Caldicott on 07 Jul 2009