URGENT: Deadline for input into Tilbury Phase 2 LNG is July 16, 2020 (Thurs)

URGENT: Deadline is Thurs. July 16, 2020, for input into Tilbury Phase 2 LNG

Lack of transparency in plans for massive LNG production and export in the Fraser River Estuary

The Governments of Canada and B.C. have facilitated incremental LNG developments over the past 7 years without public input and without disclosing and assessing the impacts of the full-scale plan. 

ACT NOW to tell the Governments that it is unacceptable for FortisBC to further expand LNG production by a factor of 15 and more than triple LNG storage on Tilbury Island in Delta, B.C.   This is part of the plan to permit LNG tankers on the lower Fraser River to export up to 3 million tonnes of LNG per year.  This is in contravention of international safety standards which have not been adopted by Canada.

If built, the $3 billion Phase 2 expansion would mean the Tilbury Island LNG plant would produce 1.4 times more LNG than the Woodfibre LNG plant in Squamish.

FortisBC claims the plans on the adjacent property for a LNG export marine terminal are “separate and distinct” from the Tilbury LNG expansions.  This is ludicrous as the documents for the Marine Terminal state they plan to export the Tilbury LNG.  Just this June, it was announced that FortisBC and Seaspan have become owners of the LNG export terminal project.

The full-scale plan for production, storage and export should have been disclosed and assessed under one cumulative environmental effects assessment 7 years ago.

You can quickly make a submission by clicking: opinion here.

If you identify your political ridings, your input will automatically be sent to your local MP and MLA.

Or you can submit directly to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office Website here.

Some points to consider:

• locating this world-scale LNG plant in a narrow river channel with tugs, freighters, pleasure boats and seaplanes, opposite a jet fuel storage facility, is asking for trouble
• the siting of the Project and export plans do not meet international LNG safety standards
• the Project has the potential to cause a catastrophic accident
• there should be a combined environmental assessment of both Phase 2 LNG and the export terminal
• the viability of the Project is tenuous due to low gas prices from global oversupply
• Canadian taxpayers are subsidizing LNG Projects and foregoing royalties
• the substitution environmental assessment by B.C.is insufficient as critical federal laws apply
• no scope for the assessment has been provided
• the environmental assessment should include impacts of upstream fracking and infrastructure
• it is unsatisfactory that only promotional information from FortisBC is provided
• a recent study finds exporting LNG to Asia will not reduce global climate emissions
• upstream fracking for the gas supply is destroying agricultural land and habitat for species at risk
• abandoned and unplugged fracking sites are polluted
• there is evidence of substantive effects on human health from chemicals used in fracking
• fracking requires vast quantities of water which is weakly regulated in B.C
• B.C.’s LNG is not cleaner than coal due to methane gas leakage rates

BACKGROUND

The Governments of Canada and B.C. have incrementally permitted massive increases in LNG production, storage and export without public input and without full disclosure and transparency:

1. BC Government Orders in Council 557, 2013 and 749, 2014: Without an environmental assessment or public input:
   1. permitted FortisBC to expand LNG production 12.6 times from 60 tonnes per day to 760 tonnes per day
   2. permitted FortisBC to increase LNG storage capacity 2.6 times from 28,000 cubic metres to 74,000 cubic metres
   3. exempted the Tilbury Expansion Project from a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
   4. allowed FortisBC to raise rates to customers to pay the $400 million costs of the Tilbury Expansion Projects

2. Approved May, 2015 and Issued May 26, 2016:  Without an environmental assessment or public input, the National Energy Board of Canada issued a license for an American-based company, WesPac Midstream, to export 3.5 million tonnes of LNG per year with LNG vessels on the lower Fraser River and estuary for 25 years.

NOW FortisBC plans to pay $3 billion for a massive Phase 2 expansion:

• increase LNG production 15.4 times with an additional 11,000 tonnes per day which is 196 times the original production rate
• more than triple current LNG on-site storage capacity for a total of 236,000 cubic metres which is 8.4 times the original storage capacity

Advertisement