By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: June 5, 2014
District of Squamish has appointed 13 community members to the community committee to help staff assess the proposed Woodfibre Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project.
The committee will provide input to both council and the proponents as the project moved through the review process. The members are
Committee Members
Ron Anderson, Squamish Terminals
Sean Carron, Member-at-large
Joshua Joseph, Squamish Nation Council
Karine Le Du, Member-at-large
Rod MacLeod, District of Squamish, Director of Engineering
Chris Pettingill, Squamish Chamber of Commerce
Doug Race, District of Squamish Council, ex-officio representative
Jennifer Reilly, Member-at-large
Linda Kelly Smith, Squamish Climate Action Network
Glenn Stainton, Member-at-large
Sara Van Mulligen, Member-at-large
Donna Wall, Tourism Squamish
Richard J. Wildman Jr., Member-at-large
CAO Corien Speaker said the district received a large number of high-calibre applications from highly-educated and deeply experienced people.
She said it was a balanced committee that will ensure staff obtains all relevant information on the project.
The committee’s mandate is twofold.
It will provide input to staff as the technical advisors who will help inform council and provide feedback directly to the project proponents on certain technical matters that could mitigate impacts or enhance the project in the eyes of the community.
Such technical matters include decisions that will be made on: water- compared to air-cooling technology, land- compared to water-based plant structures, environmental, safety and community impacts.
The committee’s first order of business will be to visit a compression facility and liquefaction facility in the Lower Mainland, scheduled for June 7.
An additional four meetings have been scheduled prior to the end of July in order for the committee to begin assessment of the technical information as quickly as possible.
Elijah says
Hmm. Interesting. Usually religious gatherings begin with a prayer. Perhaps this group can begin reading this recent article (below) about climate change and fracking from a former Mobil VP. Then the group can say – based on a welter of other evidence – the LNG facility is a terrible idea because it contributes to oceanic disturbances, environmental poisoning and juicing climate change.
As a result, they’ll agree that they have to send a strong message to Christy Clark that we have to start investing heavily in renewable energy and sustainable jobs, and that Squamish can be the first city to make the transition. We’ll accept provincial and federal subsidies for refitting our dwellings, solar panels on our houses and buildings, geothermal heating, and wind and water turbines. (Instead of giving the 33 billion to Canadian oil/gas industries.)
They’ll then call the meeting to an end and go to Howe Sound Brewery for a beer, marveling how they also came up with a great new “brand” for Squamish: “Breath Deeply! It’s all natural baby!”
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17605-former-mobil-vp-warns-of-fracking-and-climate-change
TJay says
Elijah: please quote from the Bible, that you seem to know sooooo much about….
Jean says
Does anybody know MR.Richard J. Wildman
all others are search able on Google
TJay says
Is there a real need to ?
Delena Angrignon says
My first request is that they ask Josh, the EA for longer public consulting time. Like 60 – 90 days. The working groups were given the draft air a few weeks ago and then give the deadline of June 2nd to give there comments. Considering that Woodfibre hasn’t come out with exactly how they are going to build this beast, it seems rushed. To even think that the first draft for the public consultation might come out mid June, doesn’t seem like it gives the working groups like the DOS enough time to properly evaluate and give input. The document is over 140 pages long.
Jean says
It is great that the chosen ones are going to be invited to see the liquefaction plant in Delta I presume. It would be great if there would be an open invitation to all Squamish interested people to also be allowed to see that facility, not just the chosen few.
It is great that at least they have been notified of there appointment, maybe not by the Government, but at least by our valuable Squamish Reporter . I am told that the others and nobody knows how many others had applied, did not even get a thank you for at least submitting there names. It is understandable that the chosen ones have obviously been hand selected and some with a somewhat bias opinion about the LNG, that is known to many. The missing courtesy of course, to let the others know that they did not make the cut, is a reflection of politics today and rather then an impartial nominating committee, it was up to a government employ it appears, under instructions of the people in power, to make the decisions. It is almost as in the good old days, you are eider in or you are out.
So lets hopefully get an open and documented report to the public as well, from the recommendations is forth coming.
Jean says
In view of a short time frame to get to be fully educated and to making up an informed decision an the issue, would the 13 chosen committee members be willing to have one of there E-mail addresses published, to send them some additional information, that they might be interested in receiving, in order to do maybe some additional research, to make a valuable judgment on it, some material that the rest of the applicants that where not chosen, ( anybody know how many had applied), could contribute to them, some might call it lobbying , I would call it open up some other material, that the now chosen committee members might need to know for there discussions and forthcoming recommendations
Dave says
This group is not balanced.
Squamish CAN is the one “token” Environmentalist”. Most are pro-Industry. Not that I am against Industry, both light and heavy but let’s at least appear to be Democratic
It is called serving credibility!
TJay says
Who says …YOU ??!! Whatever……
Jean says
Gagandeep, I hope you are invited to go along to the Fortis liquefaction plant at Tillsbury this Saturday.
It could be, being a Saturday, that the plant might be shut down, as the plant is small and only produces mainly for the Winter Month, to have a reserve in case to add to the gas line, in case of extra demand and for mainly long hauler transporter trucks, of witch I don,t think there are that many yet. So when shut down, of course, noise, smell, emission and heat transfer, would be at a minimum.
Jaspera says
The bias of this group is very obvious. The couple of “environmentalists” on this committee will have a very difficult time is having their case heard and understood. All good luck to them. I hope that this Committee will open up the proceedings to the more general public, but I expect that is too much to ask given the predilection of the present Squamish Council and Mayor to keep public matters as secretive and non-transparent as possible, until the last possible moment.
Everything about the process to date has been a fraud. This Council, just as with our Premier and Prime Minister, want to push through the LNG Wood Fibre project come hell or high water, regardless of research, data, analysis, scientists, even economists, that dispute its alleged “benefits” and actually assess the high costs of its dis-benefits. The present Council has limited vision or forward-thinking, beyond their next (re-) election designs, especially when it comes to matters that have environmental overtones. Their environmental record is abysmal and will be infinitely worse should they endorse this Wood Fibre project and get into bed with proponents who do not come to the table with necessarily the cleanest of hands. Poor Squamish and its Howe Sound environs – would that they had imaginative, visionary Leaders like Lions Bay and Whistler!
Realist says
Yes, I am a realist, a 17 year, PROUD, SQUAMISH resident, who would love to use his present skill set or upgrade it where necessary, to start a promising career at Woodfibre LNG. I am not a NIMBY, nor am I a hypocrite, I heat and cook with Clean, Sweet, Dry, Canadian Natural Gas, and I am proud of that too! So all NIMBY’s, and Hipocrites, STOP speaking out as if your narrow minded opinions represent all members, (or even the majority) of this awesome community. NOW!