LNG Terminal for Texada?

For many, the island’s environment is their first worry, and the project will create over two million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, estimates Chuck Childress of Texada Action Now/

Written by Darren Altmayer Pacific Yachting January 2007

A site map (top) of the proposed LNG terminal A $2-billion, 600-megawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal is planned for the north coast of Texada Island. Many of the island’s 1,100-plus residents are opposed to the ambitious energy plans, citing environmental and safety concerns. “For many, the island’s environment is their first worry, and the project will create over two million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year,” estimates Chuck Childress of Texada Action Now. “The environmental concern is that they will be importing fossil fuel and burning it for energy. Emissions will be over four times the amount from all Strait of Georgia pulp mills combined, and 150-metre-wide transmission lines would cut through the island.” In summer, visitors flock to the island, and visiting boaters take advantage of the more than 500 feet of dock space in Sturt Bay, operated by the Texada Boat Club. At specific concern for boaters are restrictions on how close boats could travel to the tankers transporting the natural gas, said Dig Pednault, president of the Texada Boat Club. But boaters and the company are at odds on how significantly the plant will affect boat traffic. “We don’t expect a huge disruption in marine traffic,” said Stu Leson, vice president of business development at WestPac LNG, the Calgary-based company behind the proposal. Leson said tankers transporting LNG through the strait could be expected, on average, once every 10 days, with more in the winter and less in the summer. Other boats will likely be prohibited from travelling within one to two kilometres of the tankers. Local boaters are troubled by the numbers. “It would definitely affect the boating public,” said longtime boater and Texada resident Gary Grieco. The exclusion zones around the transporting tankers travelling through the strait will disrupt too many boats, he said. “It’s going to be a serious problem for all boaters in the basin.” Tankers won’t be hitting the water anytime soon though. WestPac expects to formally propose the project for provincial and federal approval in the fall of 2009, and construction would take at least another two years. The company said they are in communication with BC Ferries, which uses Blubber Bay near the proposed 115-acre site at Kiddie Point. It is still too early to say how BC Ferries and their routes will be affected, Leson said. The company’s proposal was recently delayed one year, but Leson said the company is optimistic about the project. For the province, the new terminal could allow the closing of the Burrard Thermal plant near Vancouver, WestPac representatives said. Even opponents of the proposal agree; there’s will be an up-water fight.