A B.C. Vopak Development Canada Inc. has been issued an environmental assessment certificate for the Vopak Pacific Canada Project. This project is located on federal lands under federal jurisdiction.
If the federal government decides that the project is possible, the provincial environmental assessment certificate must contain conditions regarding matters within provincial jurisdiction.
The provincial certificate with conditions was issued following a decision by George Heyman, B.C.’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and Bruce Ralston, B.C’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.
Vopak is a bulk storage facility that will be used to store liquified petroleum gases (e.g. propane, ethane, butane), methanol, light diesel and/or gasoline on Ridley Island in the territories of Gitga’at, Gitxaaa, Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, Metlakatla and Lax Kw’alaams Nations.
The project would include the construction of unloading platforms to transport bulk liquid gas from Ridley Island, and docking berths at an offshore jetty for liquid gas export. The facility would receive liquid gas products from all over Western Canada via existing Canadian National railway lines.
In their decision, the ministers considered the Environmental Assessment Office’s assessment report and the chief executive assessment officer’s recommendation to issue a certificate. They also considered First Nations consultations and reviews, public engagement input and submissions from nongovernmental organizations. It was also determined that the project needed ongoing federal approvals. Also, areas of primary federal jurisdiction and province jurisdiction were being considered.
If the project is to proceed, it must comply with specific conditions and design parameters set out in the environmental assessment certificate. The ministers have determined that with the certificate’s requirements, significant adverse effects are unlikely to occur with regard to areas under provincial jurisdiction.
These are the legally binding conditions:
- Plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- To address potential adverse effects on the community, infrastructure, and well-being, we work with the First Nations and community.
- Participating in initiatives requested by the Province to manage the potential cumulative effects of these and other projects in this area.
Many of the concerns raised by First Nations and the general public during consultation and engagement are within federal jurisdiction, such rail transport and maritime shipping. Ministers have written to federal regulators recommending that concerns about potential spillages and increased rail and maritime traffic be addressed in the parallel federal reviewing process, currently underway, or through any other government actions.
Federal regulators have proposed a range of mitigation measures to mitigate the impacts of the project. These include air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, noise and visual quality and ambient lighting, marine and terrestrial resources, soils, terrain, freshwater fish, marine use and navigation and heritage and archeology as well as human health.
The EAO examined potential impacts of the project on Indigenous rights and title, and consulted with Gitga’at, Gitxaaa, Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, Metlakatla and Lax Kw’alaams during the environmental assessment.
Vopak was also required by the EAO to report on how it addressed public concerns. Vopak had to participate in three public comment periods.
Vopak made substantial changes to the project design as a result of the environmental assessment’s feedback from the technical group and the First Nations. This included removing dredging from project design and changing vessel anchoring to minimize disturbance to the seafloor to reduce potential harm to marine life and fish.
Vopak projects that construction spending would reach $885 million in two years. This includes approximately 250 full-time equivalent jobs in B.C. (70 of which are local to the site). Vopak projects that operations will result in direct expenditures of $29 million annually within B.C. and the creation of 39 direct jobs (30 local) each year within B.C.
The provincial environmental review of the project was initiated in 2018 and was done under the 2002 Environmental Assessment Act.
The factors the ministers considered in their decision on the Vopak Pacific Canada Project can be found here: https://www.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/projects-list (search: “Vopak”).
As part of British Columbia’s environmental assessment process, First Nations, government agencies, local governments and the public have input on decisions about major projects. Environmental assessments include input about the potential environmental, economic and heritage effects of a project.
Visit this site for more information about the environmental assessment process. www.gov.bc.ca/eao
A backgrounder follows.