It really comes as no surprise that the Provincial Government has rubber stamped the Environmental Assessment (EA) for Woodfibre LNG. This is one of their pet projects, and the BC Liberals’ election promise was to develop an LNG industry for B.C., whatever the cost.
They have continued to push this pipedream, despite plummeting gas prices and increasing pressure from LNG companies to slash taxes and weaken regulations in an attempt to make the industry viable.
This approval simply highlights a conflict of interest: how can the public have faith in the integrity of the B.C. Environmental Assessment process when the ministers approving these projects (one of which is Rich Coleman, the minister of natural gas development) also have a mandate to develop LNG export facilities? Quite simply, we don’t.
An article published in B.C. Business earlier this year notes that “our environmental assessment process is, according to critics, the weakest and most confusing it has been in decades—thanks to abrupt changes in our environmental laws and deep budget cuts to government regulatory agencies.”
This has not been an open and transparent process and meaningful community engagement has been limited by short windows for public input, incomplete studies provided by the proponents, and poor advertising of open house events. Thanks to My Sea to Sky’s efforts to get people involved, the public comment period for Woodfibre LNG in March generated a record number of public comments.
Has this overwhelming community opposition been adequately scrutinized by the Ministers granting this EA approval, or are the B.C. Liberals ignoring public input, as well as deleting emails?
The good news is that while Woodfibre LNG has their rubber stamped approval from the Province, they still need approval from the federal government. Our new prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has acknowledged that "even though [it is] governments that grant permits, ultimately it’s only communities that grant permission."
So far, community opposition has been loud and clear, with Powell River, Lions Bay, Gibsons, West Vancouver, Bowen Island, and Squamish all signaling strong opposition to Woodfibre LNG through recent resolutions.
My Sea to Sky has partnered with more than 20 other organizations that oppose this project, and our volunteers have hit the streets to gather over 4,400 signatures (and counting) to the Howe Sound Declaration, stating opposition to the project.
There is no social license for this project in Howe Sound. A rubber stamp isn’t going to change that.
Tracey Saxby
Co-Founder of My Sea to Sky
REFERENCES:
The problem with (self-regulated) environmental assessments (BC Business)
How the environmental assessment process works (My Sea To Sky)
Email scandal uncovered a culture of 'delete, delete, delete' in B.C. government (CBC)
Where the parties stand on Kinder Morgan's pipeline expansion (Vancouver Observer)
Sign the Howe Sound Declaration (My Sea To Sky)
Communities and Regional Districts around Howe Sound have also signaled strong opposition to the proposed Woodfibre LNG project. Below is an incomplete list of recent resolutions and votes:
- Village of Lion’s Bay, May 20, 2014
"The Village of Lions Bay urges the federal government to ban the passage of LNG tankers in the waters of the Malaspina, Georgia, Juan de Fuca and Haro Straits, and Boundary Pass."
- Powell River Regional District, May 22, 2014
Resolution 9.1 Ban LNG Tankers from Howe Sound & Georgia/Haro Strait
D.Murphy/P. Brabazon THAT the Board concur with the recommendations of the Committee of the Whole to send a letter to the Premier of B.C., the Prime Minister of Canada and copy to other appropriate local governments to advise the Regional District’s support for the 2008 UBCM resolution to ban LNG tanker traffic in the Georgia/Haro Straits is still in effect. - Town of Gibsons, July 15, 2014
"Gibsons Council urges the federal government to ban the passage of LNG tankers in the waters of Howe Sound and the Georgia Strait, and to request the support of other communities around the Howe Sound to support this resolution." - District of West Vancouver, July 21, 2014
"...to write to the federal government with a suggestion to ban the passage of LNG tankers in the waters of Howe Sound."
- Municipality of Squamish, January 20th 2015
"Council votes no to LNG pipeline test drilling in Squamish estuary"
- Bowen Island Municipality: Feb 24, 2015
"Resolution regarding an LNG tanker ban in Howe Sound carried"
- 7. Municipality of Squamish, April 28th, 2015
CONCERNS WITH EA PROCESS: Inadequate time to respond to public comment periods for Woodfibre LNG and FortisBC pipeline projects
A recent article published in the scientific journal Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal reviewed the Canadian Environmental Assessment process and stated that “sufficient time must be given to all parties involved, and that a process that limits the time for government and stakeholders to scrutinize applications is unfair given that proponents are typically far less restricted in how long they have to assemble their applications.”
The article also stated that “time limits need to be carefully designed to ensure fairness and sufficient length and flexibility in their application to allow for adequate project review.”
Most importantly, with limited time to review and comment, does the EAO believe that it is compliant with the Federal Minister of Environment’s substitution decision, which specifically states that a goal of this substituted process is to enable “meaningful participation” by the public?
SOURCE: Chris Joseph, Thomas Gunton & Murray Rutherford (2015): Good practices for environmental assessment, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal