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As endangered southern resident killer whales continue to struggle from the combined forces of noise, pollution and food (Chinook) availability, Raincoast Conservation Foundation has released a report that highlights the risks posed to wild salmon in the Lower Fraser River from an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline.

The report, “Wild Salmon, Pipelines and the Trans Mountain Expansion,” details the year-round presence of different salmon species, the river’s unique features, the nature of diluted bitumen, and the failures of Trans Mountain’s environmental assessment, as well as the inadequacy of the National Energy Board (NEB) review.

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The proposed expansion, which would run for 1,150 kilometres from central Alberta to Burnaby, B.C., requires construction of approximately 994 kilometres of new pipeline across more than 500 watercourses, roughly half of which support habitat for recreational, economic and culturally important fish species. Tripling oil capacity from 300,000 barrels to 890,000 barrels per day, the new pipeline would cross roughly 250 streams and rivers that support spawning salmon in the Fraser River watershed. The increased capacity would also necessitate a dramatic increase in the number of oil tankers transiting the waters of the Salish Sea.