The curious perused the poster boards and asked questions of the many FortisBC, Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) and Woodfibre LNG representatives on hand at the Sea to Sky Hotel Wednesday night.
About 100 people attended the EAO open house on the new FortisBC options for feeding the proposed Woodfibre LNG plant.
In response to Squamish Nation conditions and input from the public, on Sept. 14 FortisBC submitted two addenda to its Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline Project application for an environmental assessment certificate.
The options in the addenda were on display last week as part of the EAO public comment period, which began Sept. 24 and ends Oct. 15.
“We heard there was a strong preference from the public, district and First Nations to provide an alternative route option that would further avoid surface disruptions in the [Wildlife Management Area],” said Trevor Boudreau, FortisBC spokesman. “The [Squamish] Nation told us we must avoid any industrial impacts in the Skwelwil’em WMA, including excavation or land clearing.”
The new options, explained on poster boards at the open house, include a pipeline route that would avoid the Skwelwil’em Wildlife Management Area and a compressor station about two kilometres outside of the Valleycliffe neighbourhood.
The new pipeline route parallels the original application route and uses a trenchless crossing underneath the Squamish Estuary, according to FortisBC. With this new route option, a 4.2-metre underground tunnel would house the pipeline.
The gas-powered compressor station would be at the base of Mount Mulligan.
Valleycliffe resident Tyler Hollander spent time talking to various representatives at the open house, he said, and is opposed to the compressor station being anywhere near his neighbourhood.
“It is still so close to a hospital, Quest University, three elementary schools, it is too close,” he said.
Hollander, a plumber, said he was concerned about his family being near something as industrial as a compressor.
He originally moved to Squamish from Vancouver to get away from increasing industrialization, he said.
Hollander didn’t understand why the station couldn’t be placed another two kilometres further back in the bush to be further from residents.
“Make it happen,” he urged. “If you guys [FortisBC] want the extra money from Woodfibre, then just do it. Woodfibre is going to pay them whatever they want, let’s get real. Woodfibre needs to get the LNG out to other markets.”
Fellow Valleycliffe resident John Hudak was less concerned with the compressor station itself, but wondered about the noise. “They say there won’t be hardly any noise,” he said. “If they put so many horsepower motor, even on natural gas, there’s got to be some noise, but in time you’ll get used to it.”
The Eagle Mountain compressor station in Coquitlam has 22,000 horsepower and is 600 to 800 metres away from the closest residences, where it has been since 1991 without incident, according to Boudreau.
The Squamish compressor would run at a maximum 10,000 horsepower, he said, adding that it will run at 5,000 horsepower most of the year.
Boudreau said that some of the questions FortisBC representatives have received have been about the potential of seeing and hearing the compressor station at its newly proposed location.
“There seems to be some misinformation floating around that it will be visible from Valleycliffe. That’s not true. It will be located on a previously cleared lot on the other side of the bluff to minimize environmental impacts and won’t be visible from Squamish or the Valleycliffe neighbourhood,” he said. “The noise levels generated by the Mount Mulligan facility are estimated to be 20 decibels, equivalent to a whisper in a library and quieter than the ambient noise in the neighbourhood today.”
According to Boudreau, acoustic consultants SNC Lavalin conducted the noise level tests.
All the FortisBC options could move forward to the provincial and federal ministers for their final decision, according to Mike Shepherd of the EAO.
“A proponent may choose to withdraw options as they get further in the process,” Shepherd said. “A minister may also choose to select – if there was a preferred option – they may choose to select one over another.”
Shepherd said the EAO will assess all the options and forward its assessments to the ministers. “There can only be one of those options that can be developed in the end.”
For more information, go to www.eao.gov.bc.ca and search Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline Project.
