Steve Wuori, addressing an International Pipeline Conference luncheon crowd in downtown Calgary, said technological advances will spur the industry to better pipeline defect and leak detection.

“In spite of some of what people say, I think we can conclude that we work in an industry that’s vital and we do the job well,” he said.

“Let us have an unwavering dedication to the goal of zero incidents, zero leaks, zero accidents in our energy pipeline systems.”

Also Wednesday, environmental groups announced they will take the federal government to court because of its “continued failure” to implement the Species At Risk Act to protect wildlife along the Northern Gateway pipeline route from Edmonton to Kitimat, B.C.

“Delay threatens the survival of our endangered wildlife. That’s why the deadlines in SARA for producing recovery strategies are mandatory,” said Sean Nixon, staff lawyer with Ecojustice, in a news release.

“SARA is a good law that could help endangered species recover. The real problem is that the federal government won’t implement it.”

The lawsuit accuses the federal government of being at least three years overdue in producing recovery strategies for four species affected by the pipeline: humpback whales, white sturgeon, marbled murrelet (a seabird) and southern mountain caribou.

Wuori wouldn’t be drawn into talking about details of the suit or claims made during National Energy Board hearings this week in Edmonton.

“We’ve designed the project and considered all the things that are being spoken of and more and all of those will be dealt with as the regulatory hearing process works its way through,” he said.

Ecojustice says it filed the litigation Tuesday in Federal Court, acting on behalf of five environmental groups: the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club B.C., Wilderness Committee and Wildsight.

The $6-billion Northern Gateway pipeline would potentially bring about 525,000 barrels of bitumen per day from the Edmonton area to an export terminal at Kitimat, B.C.