Is the $1.6 billion Woodfibre LNG venture ready for take-off or is it stalled on the runway?
The answer to that question depends on what spin we put on the fast-moving information stream swirling around this file.
Almost a year ago, WLNG finalized an impact-benefits agreement with the Squamish Nation in excess of $225 million, spread over 40 years, as long as the company meets 25 legally-binding conditions.
This past July, WLNG received a Facilities Permit from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission and a month later the company took a major step when it ordered a key piece of equipment to liquefy and sub-cool natural gas.
Recently, the federal government provided the proponents with relief from duties on fabricated steel contained in production equipment.
As well, beginning in January 2020, the B.C. natural gas tax credit will be available to WLNG as a corporate income tax reduction strategy.
In an interview with the Financial Post, WLNG president David Keane said finalizing the engineering, procurement and construction contract in the immediate future will be the last obstacle to putting spades in the ground at the site. But several observers at the District of Squamish and the Squamish Lillooet Regional District have stressed that some items of unfinished business require urgent attention.
Squamish council members and District staff are displeased with the lack of consultation related to the project’s impact on community services and infrastructure, marine transport, traffic control and the company’s workforce housing strategy.
John French, the former WLNG communications manager and now Squamish councillor, said “Woodfibre LNG really has fallen short in consultation and in content. And they need to hear that.”
During their Sept. 3 meeting, council voted unanimously to inform the provincial Environmental Assessment Office that the District was not adequately consulted by WLNG.
Another stumbling block has been the 30-day comment period Squamish council was given to scrutinize the company’s management plans. Council members received a weighty information package from Woodfibre’s consultant Hemerra in late July, just before their annual break in August.
To make matters worse, at the time, a requested extension was declined by Hemerra and WLNG officials. In response, Woodfibre has promised to fine-tune its communication policies and to re-adjust its timelines to better suit the District’s needs.
Meanwhile, the SLRD board wants the proposed Britannia Beach WLNG employee workcamp put on hold until a social impact study is completed. And the board has referred to the Community Services and Infrastructure Plan they received from the company as a re-submitted five-year-old document that “fails to include a plan to adaptively manage workforce housing and accommodation needs during the construction phase of the project.”
According to WLNG spokeswoman Rebecca Scott, supplementary details will be added once additional feedback is received from regional and municipal officials and the community at large. “The plans in their current form are a starting point for discussion and consultation, and far from a final product,” she said.
All told, as much as Woodfibre LNG appears to be on a roll, several conspicuous lapses are undermining the credibility of the operation. Addressing those oversights to everyone’s satisfaction should be a priority moving forward.
