Herb Pond sketches out some observations on infrastructure concerns related to LNG development

While the BG Group's LNG project may still be on pause, their Community Relations Manager is keeping the project profile high in the community and answering some questions that are on the mind of many North Coast residents.

This week Herb Pond outlined a number of key points  related to the prospect of LNG development in the region, offering up an overview of some of his findings when it comes to such issues as infrastructure and impact on communities of the accelerated growth that could arrive with the industry.

Mr. Pond, who is the local contact for much on BG's plans for the North Coast delivered his talking points, by way of a full page advertisement in the monthly publication Need to Know.

Herb Pond, Community
Relations Manager for BG Group
offers up a few notes on community
impact from LNG development

In the BG advertisement, the Former Mayor of Prince Rupert uses some of his past experience as part of his narrative and then shifts some of the focus towards a 2014 tour of Queensland, Australia that he took, where he reviewed some of the impact of LNG development on that community.

Noting along the way  that during his travels he observed a number of improvements that were in place at the Queensland airport, as well as the economic boost that development provided to such small business interests as hotels, restaurants and other retailers.

As for a topic that should be close to the heart of Prince Rupert City Council, he also provides a snapshot of the shift in focus on housing that LNG development provided to the Queensland area.

From his tour, Mr. Pond noted that the housing stock had been modernized over the years with the development of new single family home sub divisions, as well as downtown apartment complexes.

He finishes up the short report to the community with  an observation on the change to the community that LNG might bring, noting that it would be "roughly like adding back the employment impact of the pulp mill, but with even greater industrial taxation and far more local investment"

You can review his range of talking points from the e-edition link to the Need to Know publication here, the full page BG Group advertisement can be found on page three.

For City Council, considering their interest in LNG at the impact that it may have on the community, perhaps inviting Mr. Pond to sit in and make a presentation of his overview would provide another helpful set of eyes.

By doing so in a public forum such as City Council, his notes and commentary would also be available to the larger public through Council's Video archive.

Mr. Pond's time with the BG Group has provided him with a fairly good opportunity to learn more about the industry and what impact LNG development can have on a community, Council would be wise to tap his brain for a few minutes to get some more background for their own work.

More on the BG Groups community engagement in Prince Rupert can be found here.

More background on the project itself can be reviewed from our archive page.