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Pacific NorthWest LNG delayed by three months

Decision on the project not likely until the summer
pacific_northwest_lng_rendering_credit_pnw_lng
Artist's rendering of the Pacific Northwest LNG project | Photo: Pacific NorthWest LNG

The federal government has delayed the final decision for Pacific NorthWest LNG (PNW), the $11.4 billion Prince Rupert plant that would liquefy natural gas from the Peace Region, by three months, until the company provides more information on environmental and Aboriginal impacts.

This includes details about the effects on fish and fish habitat including the Flora Bank, effects on marine mammals, effects of construction noise and light on human health and effects on current Aboriginal use of lands and resources for traditional purposes.

Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna issued the three-month extension on the project's environmental assessment Saturday (March 19), meaning a decision on the project likely won’t happen until the summer.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) says the Skeena River watershed surrounding the project's location is second only to the Fraser River in its capacity to produce sockeye salmon.

In a letter to Mike Lambert, PNW’s head of environment and regulatory affairs, dated March 18, the CEAA said it was taking “all available science and information” into account for the final assessment report, “recognizing the importance of understanding that is required to protect this ecologically and biologically significant habitat.”

According to CEAA spokesperson Karen Fish, the project received 34,000 comments during a recent public consultation period. 

PNW provided new information to the agency March 4 related to construction activities in the marine environment and on Lelu Island that the CEAA says has “given rise to several new areas of uncertainty which need to be taken into account in deterring the project’s effects on fish and fish habitat, marine mammals, human health and current Aboriginal use of lands and resources for traditional purposes.”
Read the CEAA letter here.

Project readies for delay

By Mike Carter and Matt Preprost, Alaska Highway News

Pacific NorthWest LNG says it will work with federal regulators who have asked for more time to review its environmental assessment application, despite having made its initial submission 750 days ago.

In a statement Sunday (March 20), President Michael Culbert said the company will assess the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's (CEAA) latest request for more information on the project's environmental and Aboriginal land use impacts.

"Yesterday, 750 days after our initial submission and four days prior to a legislated deadline for a ministerial decision, we were advised by the CEAA that further information is required to make a determination of significant adverse impacts the proposed project may have," Culbert said. 

"Pacific NorthWest LNG will work to assess this latest information request and continue to work constructively with federal agencies through this rigorous process." 

Culbert noted the company submitted its project description to CEAA in February 2013, and its environmental impact statement in February 2014.

"We would like to acknowledge the Tsimshian First Nations who have worked productively to ensure the project realizes both environmental sustainability and generational economic opportunity for their people," Culbert said. 

"Furthermore, we recognize the overwhelming support shown by local governments, businesses and workers throughout British Columbia, Alberta and across Canada for the project to receive a timely decision by the Government of Canada.”

Alaska Highway News