Dear Premier Redford,The recent series of major pipeline spills in the province has raised serious concerns for all Albertans about the integrity and oversight of the more than 300,000 kilometres of oil and gas pipelines that criss-cross the province. These spills have brought attention to an issue that affects the entire province. Albertans deserve assurances that our pipeline infrastructure is safe, and that appropriate regulations and oversight are in place.For this reason, we are calling on you to initiate an immediate independent provincewide review of pipeline safety in Alberta, similar to the one which was recently conducted for the Auditor General of Saskatchewan's 2012 report.We are encouraged that you have indicated you are “not opposed” to such a review, but we believe that such a critical issue simply cannot wait, as you have indicated, for the conclusion of the ERCB investigation into the recent spills. The average ERCB investigation takes nine months to complete, with some investigations taking years, and broader concerns related to regulation and enforcement are unlikely to be addressed by these investigations. An independent review of regulations and enforcement can and must be conducted in a parallel time frame to any ERCB investigation into individual spills.Albertans need to know that their families, communities and drinking water are safe from pipeline spills. The time for leadership on pipeline safety is now, and the first step must be an independent pipeline safety review.Signed,1. Alberta Landowners Council2. Alberta Surface Rights Group3. Alberta Union of Provincial Employees4. Alberta Wilderness Association5. Alberta Workers' Health Centre6. Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation7. Big Valley Surface Rights8. Border Surface Rights9. Butte Action Committee10. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment11. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Northern Alberta Chapter12. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Southern Alberta Chapter13. Central Athabasca Stewardship Society14. ChangeAlberta15. Citizens for Responsible Development16. Citizens for Responsible Power17. Cleanwater Foundation18. Confederacy of Treaty 619. Council of Canadians20. Davey Lake Group21. Dene Nation22. Earth Alternatives23. Edmonton Friends of the North Environmental Society24. Environmental Defence25. Friends of Lily Lake26. Glasswaters Foundation27. Greenpeace Canada28. Indigenous Environmental Network29. International Institute of Concern for Public Health30. Keepers of the Athabasca31. Lac Ste Anne Community Group32. Lochend Under Siege Group33. National Farmers Union34. Nature Alberta35. North Saskatchewan Riverkeepers36. Onoway River Valley Conservation Association37. Peace River Environmental Society38. Pembina Institute39. Powers Group40. Public Interest Alberta41. Regional Environmental Action Committee42. Seniors' Action and Liaison Team43. Sierra Club Prairie Chapter44. South Porcupine Stewardship Association45. Springvale Surface Rights Association46. Strawberry Landowners Group47. Three Creeks Resident's group48. United Landowners of Alberta49. United Nurses of Alberta50. Uptag Society51. Warburg Pembina Surface Rights Group52. Water Matters53. West Athabasca Watershed Bio Regional Society54. World Wildlife Fund
