Dear Canadian OfficialsI am writing as a Washingtonian opposed to the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which endangers our shared waters and our shared climate.

Our waterways—the Salish Sea and the Columbia River in particular—are the lifeblood of Washington’s economy and way of life. This project proposal has posed unacceptable impacts from the very beginning: more oil-laden ships interfering with the lives of orcas and an unacceptable threat of oil spills to our shared waters. A major oil spill would present an existential threat not only to the Southern Resident Orca, but also to the thriving local communities across the Salish Sea that depend on safe and healthy waterways.

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is expected to result in unacceptable impacts from vessel traffic in the Salish Sea, with the number of oil tankers originating from the Westridge Marine Terminal increasing from 50 a year to over 400 a year—at least a 700% increase. In addition to the cumulative impacts of vessel traffic to marine life, including the critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, this project increases the risk of a catastrophic oil spill to an unacceptable rate. A study commissioned by the City of Vancouver shows that there is 79–87% likelihood of a major oil spill.

The proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would bring more diluted bitumen into the shared waters of the Salish Sea. This heavy oil sinks when spilled and is virtually impossible to recover. Although industry claims to have measures in place to address a sinking oil spill, in reality, past spills have revealed that there is no adequate way to respond to this type of spill that protects water quality and wildlife. We have seen multiple examples, including along the Kalamazoo River, where spilled diluted bitumen persisted in the environment for years despite targeted clean-up efforts and ultimately became the United States’ most expensive inland oil spill. This project poses an unacceptable threat to Washington’s shoreline communities and increasingly vulnerable marine ecosystem.

The increased tanker traffic and diluted bitumen spill risk is also a grave threat to the already endangered Southern Resident orca population. There are just 75 members of this species left, and such a large increase in tanker traffic would add an unacceptable amount of stress to the already fragile population. A major spill could doom the entire orca population to extinction. The tankers also represent a significant threat to other threatened and endangered species such as the humpback whale, the stellar sea lion, and several bird and fish species.

In addition to the oil spills, the increased tanker traffic would have significant air and climate impacts. Today, most oil tankers burn heavy fuel oil, some of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. When in port, such vessels are one of the largest causes of local air pollution, and because heavy fuel oil is more carbon intensive, their consumption has a far more negative impact on the climate. The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes it very clear that we cannot continue to build projects that emit more carbon if we are to avoid the most cataclysmic impacts of climate change.

Finally, and most importantly, the Trans Mountain Pipeline does not have full consent of Coastal First Nations of the Salish Sea. As a signatory to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canada has dedicated itself to earning the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous peoples before the building of projects such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Without the full consent of all First Nations along the pipeline route, the Canadian government does not have the moral or legal authority to build this pipeline.

It is my sincere hope that the Canadian government takes these issues to heart, and approves a motion to cancel the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

Regards, Your Name