Woodfibre LNG was given a warning letter by the provincial regulatory body, the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO), over not having a specific committee formed.
The Aug. 19 letter, which was posted to the EAO project website, says that on June 18, a compliance and enforcement officer found that Woodfibre was not in compliance with one of the conditions of its environmental assessment certificate [EAC].
This is laid out in its Inspection report.
"Condition 14, amendment 3 requires [Woodfibre LNG] to establish a committee to engage the District of Squamish (DOS) and its community organizations, no less than once per quarter, and consult with parties identified in this condition, with participation from FortisBC, on issues that impact workforce housing, safety and community services," the letter reads, noting that the letter served as a warning to the company.
The letter also notes that the maximum penalty for failure to comply with a certificate is $1 million and, on each subsequent conviction, could be a fine of not more than $2 million.
The letter says that there will be further follow-up inspections by the EAO.
WLNG now ‘in compliance’
In response to the warning letter, Woodfibre LNG told The Squamish Chief that the letter speaks to the first quarter of 2024.
“Since that time, Woodfibre LNG has been in compliance with the conditions of the EA, and a cumulative impacts committee comprised of Woodfibre LNG and FortisBC representatives has been established," said WLNG spokesperson Sean Beardow.
A spokesperson for the EAO told The Squamish Chief that at this time, Woodfibre LNG is in compliance with condition 14 relating to holding quarterly stakeholder meetings. A third quarter meeting is required to be held prior to Oct. 1.
Beardow said the first meeting was held in May and included stakeholders such as the District of Squamish, PearlSpace, Squamish RCMP, Vancouver Coastal Health and the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Beardow said.
The District of Squamish confirmed this meeting took place.
The most recent cumulative impacts meeting was held on Sept. 5, Beardow said, with the next being scheduled before the end of the year.
"Joint meetings with Woodfibre LNG and FortisBC had been discontinued in the first quarter of this year at the request of District of Squamish staff, which would have made it challenging to have a separate meeting on cumulative impacts," he said.
"Monthly joint Woodfibre LNG and FortisBC meetings have since restarted as of June, following the District’s request," Beardow said.
For its part, the District of Squamish said there are multiple versions of meetings at which the District engages with WLNG and FortisBC, including a Cumulative Impacts Committee, Technical Working Group meetings, and Community Services and Infrastructure Management Plan meetings.
Spokesperson for the District, Rachel Boguski, told The Squamish Chief that a Cumulative Impacts Committee meeting was held on May 30, 2024.
"The focus for this meeting was to discuss the composition and purpose of the committee, and seek input from participants on which organizations should be engaged by the committee."
Boguski said the other meetings were not established to satisfy Condition 14 of WLNG’s Environmental Assessment Certificate, but rather to exchange technical information relating to each project with the District.
"There have been some timeline gaps with the more formal Technical Working Group due to the shared interest in updating the terms of reference, and the time it took to gain acceptance. During that gap, regular weekly meetings with project representatives continued and any project-related concerns were raised," Boguski said.
"Whether or not the meetings noted above meet the requirements of the proponent’s various approvals is for the regulator of the specific requirement to determine," she added.
Beardow said that Woodfibre LNG "appreciates the guidance" of the BC Environmental Assessment Office and "is regularly engaged with Compliance and Enforcement staff to ensure and maintain compliance with all aspects of the EAC."
Originally, Spencer Fitschen of the grassroots group Rising Tide Squamish wrote a letter to the EAO alleging that Woodfibre LNG was not in compliance, which a compliance officer followed up on, according to a letter Fitschen forwarded to the Squamish council and The Squamish Chief.
"We want to emphasize that this is a serious case of non-compliance that highlights the shallow and performative commitment of WLNG and FortisBC to our community of Squamish," Fitschen said.
The Squamish Chief updated this story after it was published to include a statement from the EAO, which came in after press deadline.
