The proposed Woodfibre liquefied natural gas project slated for Squamish in 2017 is proceeding on track and on time, according to Woodfibre LNG’s vice-president.
In spite of a new council, and potential pipeline delays, the officials at Woodfibre aren’t concerned about the future of the proposed facility, Woodfibre’s Byng Giraud told The Squamish Chief.
While Mayor Rob Kirkham, who was perceived as more open to the project than Mayor-elect Patricia Heintzman, and some candidates considered pro-LNG by Sustainable Squamish (Brad Hodge, Rob Weys, Eric Andersen and Paul Dosanjh) did not get elected Nov. 15, Giraud said the energy processing and export facility is still on track to be up and running by 2017.
“We look forward to working with the new council. We understand that there’s a different perspective by some councillors and we hope to work with them and obviously explain our position and how we think we can be a benefit to the community,” said Giraud.
Heintzman told The Squamish Chief during the run up to the election that the Squamish council needs to be more vigilant and transparent in its dealings with Woodfibre.
“Fundamentally, I have been the only person asking tough questions in council. I think regardless of if you are supportive of the idea or you’re skeptical of the idea, council’s role is to make sure we are asking the tough questions,” she said last month.
But Giraud said he doesn’t really see the election results as a reflection of voters’ feelings on the Woodfibre plant. Only Karen Elliott and Peter Kent are new councillors who unequivocally opposed the facility.
“We don’t think the election was any sort of referendum on us, given the disparity of candidates and sort of the different positioning,” Giraud said.
For her part, with the election behind her, Heintzman seems to agree that the liquified natural gas (LNG) plant was not the deciding factor.
“I don’t think it actually would have been a different result without LNG,” she told the CBC on Monday.
In terms of the Fortis pipeline, Giraud said Woodfibre is taking the long view and not concerned about possible delays to the pipeline, which will serve the Woodfibre facility.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Fortis’ permits for temporary geotechnical boreholes, which will determine the type of building technique to put in a 24-inch diameter natural gas pipeline, went before council, but were deferred.
Three of the boreholes are to be within the provincial Skwelwil’em Wildlife Management Area on the west side of the Squamish River, and the province also hasn’t given authorization as yet, the district’s environmental coordinator Caroline Ashekian told council.
Giraud said there is not really any discretion on those permits, so ultimately it is just how they are provided, not if.
“Obviously when things are delayed, that shortens time scales, but [Fortis] doesn’t need to have their new pipeline up and running for us until 2016, so there is still a considerable amount of time... so no one is extremely concerned,” he said.
- with files from Rebecca Aldous
Woodfibre LNG update
Woodfibre is currently trying to wrap up the environmental assessment application.
“Most of the work has been done, but as you can imagine this is a multi-volume, several feet, possibly as-tall-as-me publication,” Woodfibre’s Byng Giraud told The Squamish Chief. Now the document has to be edited and reviewed.
Giraud predicts the application will be submitted later this month.
That will be followed by a 45-day review by the provincial government, and then 180 days for further review and public consultation.
Woodfibre organized two tours of FortisBC’s Tilbury LNG facility in Delta on Nov. 8 and 9 in an effort to show people what an LNG facility looks like and how it works.
The first two tours did not have enough participants to run, but the second tour on Nov. 9 was full, with 12 people.
Giraud said there would likely be more tours in the future.
He said he imagines Woodfibre will receive its Environmental Assessment certificate, likely with conditions, sometime in May or June. In the meantime, there are other things that need to be done, he said.
“The site is still an active industrial site. We haven’t taken full possession of it from Western Forest Products – there are still some conditions they have to satisfy – there is all the engineering procurement that has to begin for a project of this size,” he said.
Woodfibre is holding two business information sessions on Nov. 26, which are part of outreach into the community for potential employees and contractors.
“We want to start developing those databases,” he said, “so we can take advantage, as much as possible, of local hires and local contracting.”
To attend one of the sessions, email [email protected] or call 1-888-801-7929.
