Texada group demands referendum
Laura Walz, Editor
Powell River Peak
09/20/2007
Liquefied natural gas plant should be islanders' choice, according to meeting moderator
Members of an old organization that has new life will prepare a referendum question about a proposed liquefied natural gas facility and power plant on Texada Island.
TAN (Texada Action Now) organized a community meeting in the Gillies Bay community hall on Sunday evening, September 16, to gauge residents' reaction to a plan by WestPac LNG for a combined LNG import terminal and natural gas-fired power generation facility at Kiddie Point, known locally as Coho Point, located at the north end of the island.
TAN was active in the 1980s on various island issues, including a proposal by Genstar Conservation Systems Ltd. to landfill Lower Mainland garbage on Texada.
Chuck Childress, a former chairman of the Powell River Regional District board and director representing Texada for two terms, moderated the meeting. He told the approximately 150 people who packed the hall that he believes WestPac's proposal is a Texada-to-decide issue. "This issue ultimately should be decided by a binding referendum by people on Texada Island," he said. "It is, in a sense, our island, and I do think we should have a say in what happens to it."
People brought up a number of issues and concerns with the WestPac proposal, which ranged from its environmental impact to security, safety and whether there were lasting benefits to the island. People also raised concerns about the impact a new transmission line would have on property values and health.
Under WestPac's proposal, LNG would be imported in supertankers from Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The tankers, described as large as three football fields, would travel a route around the south end of Vancouver Island and dock at Texada approximately every 10 days. Some of the LNG would be pumped into the Terasen gas pipeline that runs across the island and the rest would be used to run the hydroelectric plant. The transmission line would connect the generation plant to the Cheekye-Dunsmuir line that crosses Texada.
Childress noted that, using conservative data, the generation facility would emit greenhouse gases equivalent to 41 Catalyst paper mills. He said a similar-sized plant in Sarnia, Ontario, emits greenhouse gases equivalent to 50 pulp and paper mills.
Childress also said he believes the proposal does not comply with some sections of Texada's OCP (Official Community Plan). He believes, he said, that the regional district has the power to bring in a zoning bylaw that would prohibit the facility from being built.
"In my view, the regional district could stop this process right now by bringing in zoning that does not permit this use," he said.
Dave Murphy, the Texada director on the regional board, said at the meeting that since the WestPac announcement, he has been receiving from six to 10 emails and phone calls a day about the issue. "If you deem this is an issue that you don't want, I will stand up and fight for that with my last drop of blood," Murphy said. "But there are quite a few on Texada who would like to see the LNG facility. There is also a large group sitting on the fence."
If the project was relocated further south on the island, not in sight, more people would support it, Murphy said. He added that he needed people to send him emails and letters, with signatures, that he can bring to the other directors on the regional board.
However, Childress said that people needed to be able to vote in a secret ballot in a referendum in order to let their view be known, not in emails or letters. Texada needed the regional district to hold the referendum, Childress added, and for the members of the regional district board to say that they would be bound by a referendum. Childress asked: "Will he [Murphy] and the Powell River Regional District help us to have a referendum on this issue?"
Murphy replied he was "not ruling out a referendum. But at this point in time there is not enough information to go ahead with a referendum. We have no formal document for referral."
Childress pointed out that since there was no formal proposal, if a zoning amendment was implemented, it would have a better chance of standing up in court. He added that the regional district should be approached to make a zoning bylaw amendment, then the people of Texada could vote on it.
In the end, the vast majority of people agreed that TAN should prepare a referendum question to bring back to another public meeting.
Interested readers can find more information about WestPac's proposal on its website, www.westpaclng.com. More information is at www.texadalng.com or and TAN is at www.texadalng.ca.
Powell River Peak
09/20/2007
Liquefied natural gas plant should be islanders' choice, according to meeting moderator
Members of an old organization that has new life will prepare a referendum question about a proposed liquefied natural gas facility and power plant on Texada Island.
TAN (Texada Action Now) organized a community meeting in the Gillies Bay community hall on Sunday evening, September 16, to gauge residents' reaction to a plan by WestPac LNG for a combined LNG import terminal and natural gas-fired power generation facility at Kiddie Point, known locally as Coho Point, located at the north end of the island.
TAN was active in the 1980s on various island issues, including a proposal by Genstar Conservation Systems Ltd. to landfill Lower Mainland garbage on Texada.
Chuck Childress, a former chairman of the Powell River Regional District board and director representing Texada for two terms, moderated the meeting. He told the approximately 150 people who packed the hall that he believes WestPac's proposal is a Texada-to-decide issue. "This issue ultimately should be decided by a binding referendum by people on Texada Island," he said. "It is, in a sense, our island, and I do think we should have a say in what happens to it."
People brought up a number of issues and concerns with the WestPac proposal, which ranged from its environmental impact to security, safety and whether there were lasting benefits to the island. People also raised concerns about the impact a new transmission line would have on property values and health.
Under WestPac's proposal, LNG would be imported in supertankers from Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The tankers, described as large as three football fields, would travel a route around the south end of Vancouver Island and dock at Texada approximately every 10 days. Some of the LNG would be pumped into the Terasen gas pipeline that runs across the island and the rest would be used to run the hydroelectric plant. The transmission line would connect the generation plant to the Cheekye-Dunsmuir line that crosses Texada.
Childress noted that, using conservative data, the generation facility would emit greenhouse gases equivalent to 41 Catalyst paper mills. He said a similar-sized plant in Sarnia, Ontario, emits greenhouse gases equivalent to 50 pulp and paper mills.
Childress also said he believes the proposal does not comply with some sections of Texada's OCP (Official Community Plan). He believes, he said, that the regional district has the power to bring in a zoning bylaw that would prohibit the facility from being built.
"In my view, the regional district could stop this process right now by bringing in zoning that does not permit this use," he said.
Dave Murphy, the Texada director on the regional board, said at the meeting that since the WestPac announcement, he has been receiving from six to 10 emails and phone calls a day about the issue. "If you deem this is an issue that you don't want, I will stand up and fight for that with my last drop of blood," Murphy said. "But there are quite a few on Texada who would like to see the LNG facility. There is also a large group sitting on the fence."
If the project was relocated further south on the island, not in sight, more people would support it, Murphy said. He added that he needed people to send him emails and letters, with signatures, that he can bring to the other directors on the regional board.
However, Childress said that people needed to be able to vote in a secret ballot in a referendum in order to let their view be known, not in emails or letters. Texada needed the regional district to hold the referendum, Childress added, and for the members of the regional district board to say that they would be bound by a referendum. Childress asked: "Will he [Murphy] and the Powell River Regional District help us to have a referendum on this issue?"
Murphy replied he was "not ruling out a referendum. But at this point in time there is not enough information to go ahead with a referendum. We have no formal document for referral."
Childress pointed out that since there was no formal proposal, if a zoning amendment was implemented, it would have a better chance of standing up in court. He added that the regional district should be approached to make a zoning bylaw amendment, then the people of Texada could vote on it.
In the end, the vast majority of people agreed that TAN should prepare a referendum question to bring back to another public meeting.
Interested readers can find more information about WestPac's proposal on its website, www.westpaclng.com. More information is at www.texadalng.com or and TAN is at www.texadalng.ca.
posted by Friend of Texada at
11:21 PM
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