FortisBC is raising the alarm over potential delays in the approval process for a temporary workers’ lodge to support its pipeline project in Squamish. In a letter to the council, Mike Leclair, Vice President of Major Projects and LNG at FortisBC, highlighted the critical need for timely decisions to avoid jeopardizing the 2025 construction peak season.
He says approval delays could threaten the lodge’s feasibility, a vital element of the Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline (EGP) project.
In the letter, Leclair emphasized that FortisBC requires approval for the Temporary Use Permit (TUP) by September 3, 2024, and for the development and building permits by November 15, 2024, to ensure the lodge is fully operational by June 2025. However, recent discussions with district staff indicate that the earliest possible approval date for the TUP could be after a public hearing on September 25, 2024.
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This timeline, Leclair warns, leaves insufficient time to meet the November deadline, putting the entire project schedule at risk.
“The November 15, 2024 date is critical to having the Lodge fully operational by June 2025 in advance of the peak construction period,” Leclair stated. “Otherwise, the Lodge is not a feasible solution.”
FortisBC’s concerns are due to information requests and new requirements imposed by the District since a July 2024 meeting. These include a hydrogeological testing and monitoring program, additional details on the Bio-Inventory Assessment, decommissioning and restoration planning, and further data related to the Traffic Impact Assessment. While acknowledging the district staff’s efforts to collaborate on these issues, Leclair pointed out that these new demands are straining the project timeline.
FortisBC has provided feedback on these requests, noting that the Bio-Inventory and Traffic Impact Assessments have already undergone multiple revisions by qualified professionals. They are currently working with the district to understand the final revisions required. However, Leclair expressed frustration that the hydrogeological testing request came 1.5 years after the initial TUP application.
Leclair also highlighted that the decommissioning and restoration plans are already covered under FortisBC’s Construction Environmental Management Plan, regulated by the Environmental Assessment Office and Squamish Nation. He noted that the company is working with private landowners to develop these plans and will provide a summary to the District.
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To meet the critical November 15, 2024, deadline, FortisBC is urging the District of Squamish to advance the TUP decision date, collaborate on reasonable approval conditions, and establish a clear timeline for the permitting process. Failure to secure these approvals in time could force FortisBC to explore alternative solutions, including housing workers in the Lower Mainland and transporting them to the project site daily, leading to more impact on the community.
David J Lassmann says
I wonder whether these demands are deliberate attempts by the District of Squamish to delay the project or merely signs of amateurish incompetence.
Francine Lessard says
Both
Dylan says
Once again, the Squamish Council and bereaucracy is trying to push an anti-development, faux-environmental agenda by trying to bury this project in red tape.
You have wasted valuable development opportunities for Squamish related to Woodfibre… please stop damaging our future.
Spencer Fitschen says
This is very lazy “reporting”, and only repeats the contents of the letter that Fortis wrote to staff and council. Anyone that has followed this saga would be aware that Fortis bears at least as much responsibility for the delays as the DOS.
I would also argue that having the workers bussed in from Vancouver would result in fewer impacts to Squamish, contrary to what the last paragraph states.