Regulatory approval of LNG pipeline faces First Nation resistance

 

TransCanada’s headquarters in Calgary, Alberta.

Babine Lake, Burns Lake bands say recent Supreme Court ruling changes playing field

By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, Oct 26, 2014

One of the first big LNG pipelines has been approved by B.C. after an environmental review, but First Nations say they could yet oppose the mega-project and others like it.

TransCanada’s $4.7-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline to Kitimat was given approval Friday, although the project only goes ahead if the project it fuels is given the green light.

Shell and its partners have yet to give a positive final investment decision to the $12-billion Canada LNG project meant to tap into Asia’s growing appetite for energy.

Gas super-cooled to a liquid (liquefied natural gas) would be shipped to countries such as Japan, Korea and China.

While TransCanada celebrated the regulatory approval as a “milestone,” First Nations such as the 2,300-member Babine Lake Nation say they have not decided whether they are in favour of the project.

Emboldened by a recent landmark Supreme Court ruling that they believe strengthens the need for government and companies to get First Nation consent for industrial development, the Babine Lake First Nation had asked for an extension to the provincial environmental assessment to more fully address its concerns of effects to land, wildlife, back-country access and water.

The government declined.

“It may push us into opposition because we have to protect our aboriginal title,” chief Wilf Adam said Sunday, noting their decision will likely come in November.

Adam noted the province has offered $10 million annually in cash payments over a 30-year period per natural gas pipeline, however that will be shared between about 20 First Nations.

About 150 kilometres of the Coastal GasLink project would cross the traditional territory of the Babine Lake Nation. Other pipelines in their traditional territory include a $6-billion pipeline to feed the BG Group-led Prince Rupert LNG project, and the Pacific Trails Pipeline that would fuel the Chevron-led Kitimat LNG project.

The Burns Lake Indian Band also says the province’s review of the Coastal GasLink pipeline is not legitimate because of the recent Supreme Court decision. The ruling granted the Tsilqhot’in title to 1,750 square kilometres in central B.C., a historic first.

First Nations in northern B.C. believe they would have little problem making a similar case for title in their traditional territories, which must include continuous and exclusive use.

The Burns Lake band is calling for the B.C. environmental assessment to be revisited under a lens that doesn’t rely on “small postage stamp notions” of aboriginal title.

“They got the test for our rights wrong and set up the process for the (environmental assessment) wrong as a result,” Dan George, a councillor for Burns Lake, said in a written statement.

The First Nation also has concerns over a Pacific Northern Gas pipeline twinning project.

While First Nations in north-central and northwest B.C. have been adamantly opposed to Enbridge’s $7.9-billion Northern Gateway oil pipeline, they have been more open to liquefied gas projects and their pipelines.

But these latest First Nation concerns could be a potential obstacle to LNG development in northern B.C., which is being vigorously promoted by Premier Christy Clark’s government. Her government has said that five LNG plants could provide thousands of jobs and help feed a $100-billion prosperity fund during the next three decades. Industry analysts expect fewer than five plants to be built.

On Sunday, TransCanada said it continues to discuss the project with First Nations along the route. “We believe that the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project has gone through an extensive and rigorous review and that is reflected in the certificate we have now received,” Rick Gateman, president of Coastal GasLink Pipelines, said in a written statement.

There are conditions attached to B.C.’s regulatory approval, which includes a mitigation and monitoring plan for both grizzlies and caribou.

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