Petronas on the small island
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Switch the engine off
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The Malaysian corporation was given permission from the Province and the federal government to build a huge gas liquefication plant on Lelu Island. The small island is only a few meters from the coast near Prince Rupert, on the Pacific Ocean, and is meant to host a marine terminal for gas tankers that would export lng to Asia. Against the project Pacific Northwest LNG many groups protested: environmentalists, natives, scientists and communities along the Skeena River, the river where salmons go upstream after having rested in Flora Bank, near Lelu Island. If the plant gets built, scientists fear that the delicate habitat of salmon will be endangered if not destroyed. In January 2017 two First Nations launched a lawsuit against the Province, it was the fourth for Petronas project. Since August 2015 the small island is occupied: the Lax'kwalaams have built a cabin and live there monitoring the situation in order to prevent construction. The band initially rejected more than 1 billion dollars offered by Petronas, but a new poll has been done by the Province and the newly elected Band Council has reopened the dialogue with Province and proponent. |
The approval in September 2016 by the federal government is bound to 190 conditions that the corporation has to respect in order to protect the environment. These conditions clearly explain the devastating impact that the project will have on air, water, marine life and nature. The construction will imply the destruction of 120 hectars of wetlands which will have to be moved and compensated: in the area of Prince Rupert the company will have to restore 240 hectars new wetlands. Many conditions concern fish, crabs and mammals. In order to "mitigate" the sound impact, the proponent shall develop, in consultation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and implement a marine mammal detection program for all in-water construction activities where underwater noise levels are predicted by the Proponent to exceed a root mean square sound pressure of 160 decibels to reduce adverse behavioural change in or of injury to marine mammals. They are also aske to stop in-water construction activities if a marine mammal is detected within the safety radius and not starting or restarting in-water construction until the marine mammal has moved out of the safety radius. |
Resistance against the giant
New jobs, new business for everybody, that's what Premier Christy Clark has promised together with the lng industry. But not everybody is ready to give up salmons and crabs and marine life depending on the health of Flora Bank and the Skeena River.
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