One down, one to go for KLNG
By Ryan Calvery
Jun 14 2006
northernsentinel.com
All that now stands between Kitimat LNG and seeking suppliers for its proposed regasification plant is federal approval.
Last Tuesday, June 6, both the provincial Energy and Environment ministries announced they had given the liquefied natural gas plant the green light.
“This is a critical milestone for the project,” said KLNG president Rosemary Boulton. “It provides us a first advantage as to acquire supply, which is very important for the project.”
And federal approval would place KLNG ahead of rival projects proposed for North America’s west coast in the race to secure LNG suppliers.
In announcing the approval, the province said, “The joint provincial EAO Assessment Report/federal Comprehensive Study Report concludes no significant residual effects as a result of the project, subject to adherence to the application’s design components and implementation of mitigation measures agreed to by the proponent.”
The provincial environmental certificate is subject to KLNG meeting 243 commitments it has made.
These include measures to protect the coastal tailed frog, a habitat assessment of the jetty and marine terminal footprint - including an eelgrass survey - to determine habitat loss and establish habitat compensation requirements, and a marbled murrelet survey.
Boulton is “cautiously optimistic” that the project will receive federal approval in the next few weeks.
The timing of that is unknown because, unlike the provincials review process, there is no legislated timeline for federal environmental reviews.
If KLNG does receive the go-ahead from Ottawa, Boulton said construction at the Beese Cove location - 14 kilometres south of Kitimat - would begin around late September or early October.
After a halt for the winter, she said the real work would begin next spring.
The estimated $500 million project will provide 700 jobs during the construction phase and result in about 50 permanent jobs. |
