Snowfall Warning issued for North Coast Inland Sections

Update: 4:30 PM Snowfall Warning has ended for the North Coast Inland areas

The mixture of cold air and an approaching Pacific Front is combining for what might be a fairly impressive dump of snow over the next little while.

At 11 AM Environment Canada issued a Snowfall warning for Coastal Sections of the North Coast, with total amounts of up to 10 cm expected before the system moves further inland overnight.

The snow event should be a short lived thing beyond Monday, as temperatures are expected to climb through the week reaching a high of 7 above by next Saturday.

The full forecast can be found here.

With that snow, attention on the roads, particularly for those travelling inland will be required.

Some stretches of Highway 16 from Prince Rupert to points east are already listed as having slippery sections, with conditions expected to worsen as the snow arrives.

You can learn the latest conditions from the Drive BC website and twitter feed.

MLA Rice wraps up busy week, by presenting Dodge Cove petition against LNG terminal proposal to the Legislature

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice has had a fairly active final week of the Fall session, tackling a number of items as the Legislature prepares to take its Christmas/New Year and beyond break.

As we outlined earlier today, Ms. Rice's efforts in the Legislature regarding what was a unfair charge from BC Ferries for those who require wheel chairs found a successful conclusion. As Transportation Minister Todd Stone confirmed for the MLA  on Thursday, that the practice of charging 30 dollars extra will be stopped.

Tuesday, the North Coast MLA rose in the Legislature to herald the renewal of the peace treaty between the Haida and Heiltsuk First Nations, providing a short history lesson for the Legislature about past events and the ongoing significance of it's renewal.

As part of her statement on the treaty Ms. Rice reviewed her participation this September, as a witness to the renewal of the treaty.

This September I was privileged to bear witness to a modern-day renewal of this peace treaty. I travelled on B.C. Ferries from Prince Rupert to Skidegate with 75 Heiltsuk who had just made the long journey north from Bella Bella. The ferry was filled with Heiltsuk of all ages, from babies to elders. Kids were out of school for this monumental event — although a few teens did tell me that they had to write papers about their experience to get out of class. The boat hummed of drumming and powerful voices. A sea of red regalia filled the passageways of the ship. 
...
Heiltsuk Hereditary Chief Harvey Humchitt invited me to walk off the ferry with the Heiltsuk when we landed in Haida Gwaii. We were greeted by singing and drumming and welcoming Haida on the shores of Skidegate. It was a sight to be seen. The B.C. Ferries crew commented that they'd never participated in anything like this before. An exchange of singing and drumming echoed across the waters as we exited the ramp off the ferry and walked onto Haida territory.

You can review her full commentary from Hansard of Wednesday afternoon, with her comments arriving at just before the 10:25 mark

The Legislature Video Archive hosts her presentation to the Legislature as well, it can be found at the 10:25 mark from the Tuesday Chamber video option

Yesterday, Ms. Rice presented a petition to the Legislature which outlined the opposition of residents of Digby Island regarding any proposed development of an LNG Terminal on the southern tip of the Island.

Shortly after 11:15 in the morning session of yesterday's proceedings, the MLA outlined the objections of those living in the Dodge Cove area.

I rise to table a petition from every member of the community of Dodge Cove living on Digby Island. The people of Dodge Cove feel that the Aurora-Nexen LNG project, which is proposed to be situated half a kilometre from their homes, will alter their lives and community irreparably.

The notice of the petition can be found in the Thursday morning Hansard review.

You can review her delivery of the petition to the Legislature from the Thursday Morning Chamber Video, it starts at the 11:16 mark

As we reviewed earlier this week, it was announced that the Aurora Project would focus on development plans for Digby Island, with the Chinese energy company CNOOC and it's Canadian subsidiary Nexen  selecting the Digby Island option for further site evaluation, choosing that location over its previous development option of Grassy Point.

You can review more details on the Digby Island proposal here.

The delivery of the petition will mark the last bit of business for the North Coast MLA in the Legislative Chamber for the foreseeable future. With the end of the Legislature sitting shortly after the noon hour on Thursday, the province's MLA's adjourned for the Christmas Holidays and perhaps much further into 2015.

No indication was given by Government House Leader Mike de Jong as to when the Legislature may sit next, with the timetable to be determined upon advice of the Government.

For more items related to developments at the Legislature see our archive page here.

Prince Rupert Fire Rescue Puts out the Help Wanted Sign

A rare opportunity for North Coast residents to join the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Department has just been announced, with a Help Wanted posting provided to the City's website this week.

The Job opportunity announcement provides a short overview of some of Prince Rupert's attributes for those that may wish to re-locate here, as well as a short synopsis of the nature of the work for those that become fire-fighters in the community.

As well, a fairly comprehensive listing of qualifications, requirements and expectations from applicants for the position is provided, something that should help keep the application pile from becoming too large.

The subject of the Fire Department became a discussion point at the recent Mayoralty Forum, as Mayor Mussallem observed that there were some in the community that would prefer to see the current status of the Fire Department "closed down" and  a volunteer based fire department established in the City.

Though the Mayor didn't expand very much on that particular topic through the election campaign and it never seemed to become any kind of issue by the time Mayor elect Brain had found electoral success on November 15th.

The prospect of the topic being high on the list of this Council, for the immediate future would seem quite unlikely, considering the range of other issues that they face.

As for the Fire Department, the professional force has been serving the city since 1910.

Currently the PRFD has a full time staff of 20 professional firefighters, as well as mix of  7 full time and part time dispatchers to handle emergency calls to the Fire Hall.

The job posting of this week may be the first of a number of potential openings for local residents, as many of the current members are nearing the age of retirement from the Fire/Rescue Service.

Those that are thinking of submitting an application, will want to review the full listings of qualifications for the job.

Some of those key requirements for the Full time Position include:

The need for firefighting experience

Have proven leadership skills and knowledge

Possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills. 
A working knowledge of computer skills. 

Applicants must possess a Class 5 Drivers License with Air Brake Endorsement

With Educational requirements of the completion of Grade 12 or equivalent. 

In addition, applicants should also have the  NFPA 1001 Standard for Firefighter Professional Qualifications 

As well as Level III First Responder. 

Each firefighter recruit will also be required to do the following:

Submit to a Criminal Records Check

Provide a Driver’s Abstract 

Take  a Complete Physical Evaluation

Applications for the position should include a resume and cover letter in sealed envelope, sent to the Fire Department and addressed as follows:

Dave McKenzie, Fire Chief
Fire Hall
200 - 1st Avenue West
Prince Rupert, BC
V8J 1A8

The Deadline for applications is 4 PM on December 12th.

Further Details on the career Opportunity can be found here.

Pacific NorthWest LNG offer up comments regarding Environmental Assessment Certificate for Lelu Island Terminal

With another step along the regulatory process complete, Pacific NorthWest LNG  and parent company Petronas have offered up some comments on the recent news of the granting of an Environmental Assessment Certificate by the Province of British Columbia.

A short note on the Pacific NorthWest LNG Facebook page outlines the observations from the company regarding the provincial approval notice of Tuesday.

Today, Minister Polak and Minister Coleman announced the approval of Pacific NorthWest LNG's BC Environmental Assessment application. 

We would like to thank everyone who provided their important feedback regarding our project. 

Pacific NorthWest LNG continues to consult and engage with local First Nations, stakeholders and residents as we move to successfully complete our federal environmental assessment and secure all necessary permits from all levels of government.

As we outlined on the blog yesterday, the Environmental Assessment Certificate was one of a flurry of LNG related announcements of Tuesday, with the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project also receiving its Environmental Assessment Certificate at the same time.

That pipeline project will provide the method of transporting Natural Gas from British Columbia's Northeast Gas fields, to the Lelu Island Terminal should the project move into the development stage.

The Final Investment decision regarding the Lelu Island proposal, is anticipated to be announced in

mid December.

At that time the Malaysian Energy giant Petronas, will outline its plans moving forward, regarding the 11 billion dollar LNG project for the North Coast.

Towards that decision, a Malaysian Business publication, The Malaysian Reserve, is reporting that Petronas CEO Shamsul Azhar Abbas will travel to Vancouver this weekend for meetings in Vancouver with British Columbia government officials.

As the Malaysian paper puts it, the nature of the meeting is "to sit down together and discuss firmly so that clarity is given," adding that "We have the balance of one quarter of issues at hand. We reckon we can sit down and strike a solution"

The full article on the path ahead for Petronas can be found here.

You can review more information on the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal from our archive page.

Alaska Marine Highway Terminal renovations find a bit of International controversy

Earlier this week, we outlined the increasing levels of percolating discontent among some of Canada's Industrial suppliers, who have been quick to outline their objections on a Buy America provision, when it comes to the upcoming renovation project for the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal at Fairview in Prince Rupert.

Since we posted our item of Tuesday, we've been watching with interest as the national media grabbed onto the story of those Buy America provisions of the Alaska Government project and how it is being received across Canada.

Some of those reviews can be found below:

Globe and Mail-- "Buy America" shuts out Canadian Iron and Steel from ferry Terminal overhaul
Vancouver Sun-- Buy America policy means Alaska ferry terminal in Prince Rupert to be built with U.S. products
Vancouver Province-- New Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal must use American iron and steel
CTV News Vancouver-- B. C. to Alaska Ferry hits "Buy America" snag in construction plans
CTV News Vancouver -- Canadian Materials not welcome
Business in Vancouver-- Buy America rules shut B. C. companies out of B . C. project
Business News Network-- Buy American shuts out Canadian Iron and Steel from B. C. Ferry Terminal overhaul (video)
Wall Street Journal-- British Columbia Port Upgrade Subject to U. S. policies
National Post-- Buy America... in Canada: Ferry terminal on B. C. coast must be built using U. S. materials

Yesterday, the issue became a bit of a political item for the B. C. Government, with both Transportation Todd Stone Minister and Premier Christy Clark weighing in on the controversy.

Vancouver Province-- Christy Clark lambasts U. S. over "Buy America' rules at Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal
CFTK-- Cullen, Clark angered over "Buy American" Policy for Construction of Ferry Dock in Prince Rupert
CKNW-- Premier Challenging "Buy American" policy for new ferry terminal in BC
CBC-- Christy Clark Slams Buy America policies at Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal
Huffington Post-- Enforcement of 'Buy America' Provisions in B. C. called ironic
Stockhouse-- U. S. Not Friendly on B. C. Ferry Terminal: Clark
Journal of Commerce-- Clark Says American not behaving as "friends" in Prince Rupert Terminal Project

As we outlined on Tuesday, we're not sure that the City of Prince Rupert will be quite as energized by the issue, as the province and national media has been over the last three days.

In fact, we imagine that the City might be watching the rhetoric with a fair bit of interest and perhaps a small amount of trepidation. Hopeful, perhaps that the growing tempest doesn't end up scuttling the project completely.

The growing controversy, could end up being something which once again may give the Alaskans cause to re-consider Prince Rupert as their southern terminus, which as long time Rupertites know, has been a discussion point that has been mentioned in previous years whenever issues between BC and Alaska flare up.

Perhaps it's a topic that the incoming Mayor may wish to to be in touch with the Premier about, highlighting some of the past history when it comes to anything to do with the Alaska Marine Highway and Prince Rupert.

Hopefully, some form of accommodation will be found on the issue before things get too heated between the province and the State, with no concerns locally when it comes to any potential disruption to one of the key transportation links between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan.

For more items related to Transportation on the North Coast see our archive page here.

North Coast MLA finds success in bid to remove extra charge on BC Ferries for wheel chair users

Earlier this week, we outlined the efforts of North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice in her bid to call attention to an unfair charge on BC Ferries, an extra fee that affected those who require the use of  a wheel chair.

On Monday, the MLA rose in the Legislature to review the current situation in place, where BC Ferries charges an extra thirty dollars for cabin space for those who use wheel chairs.

During that Monday morning session Ms. Rice called on the Transportation Minister to address the issue and eliminate the extra charges.

Wednesday, her office confirmed that the Mr. Stone had contacted Ms. Rice to advise that he was committed to remove the price difference that currently exists for those travelling on BC Ferries.

It would appear to be a follow up to his comments of Monday, stating that the goal of the government is to make British Columbia one of the most accessible jurisdictions in North America.

His confirmation  and commitment towards action for Ms. Rice on this issue, would seem to deliver a simple solution to a situation that never should have existed in the first place.

You can review her correspondence with the Transportation Minister on the issue from this link from the MLA's announcement.

For more items related to the North Coast MLA's work in the Legislature see our archive page here.

Councillor Cunningham seeks update on Airport renovations timeline

Councillor Barry Cunningham is looking for some answers when it comes the status of the renovation project at Prince Rupert Airport.

At Monday's council session, Mr. Cunningham made note of the seemingly stalled state of progress when it comes to the work currently underway at the Digby Island Airport.

Expressing some frustration at what appear to be delays with that project, he put forward a motion that would see the Chairman of the Airport Authority come to City council to offer up an explanation as to the current situation regarding the ongoing renovation project.

The Airport Renovation project started up in mid summer with extensive work on the runways and surrounding area of the airport.

As for the Terminal work, progress so far seemingly has been limited to the installation of large volumes of plywood blocking views to the runway area.

City Council first moved the project forward in November of 2013, when Council announced the success of its Airport Loan Approval process.

The most recent update that the City received on the project came in September of this year.

Councillor Cunningham's motion for a request to meet with the Airport Authority Chair was approved, however no date was set as to when that session would take place.

You can review Councillor Cunningham's comments from the City's Video Archive, his contribution to the discussion starts at the 2 hour 19 minute mark



For more items related to Transportation in the Northwest see our Archive page here, for more background on Prince Rupert City Council sessions see our Council Discussions feature here.

Bid to increase Salaries of Mayor and Council stalls in final session

As Prince Rupert's Council sat in final session before the newly elected members take their seats in early December, one bit of final business didn't make it much past the suggestion stage on Monday evening.

Highlighting her soon to be status as a departing member of Council, Councillor Gina Garon introduced a motion to have City Staff provide a report to amend the current bylaw, regarding pay for Councillors and the Mayor.

The report for the incoming Council would provide background and offer up for review, the possibility of increasing the salaries for Prince Rupert's Mayor and City Councillors.

As part of her proposal Councillor Garon outlined her proposal that would have seen the stipend for Councillors increase by 8,000 dollars a year, while the Mayor's position salary would be increased by 15,000 dollars per annum.

Currently City Council Salaries are listed at 13,180 dollars per year,  While the Mayor's salary is listed at 42,274 per year.

Council Members can also claim a number of expenses as part of their duties.

The most recent review of Civic Compensation was provided in June, as part of the Spring financial reviews (see item here)

Further to her motion, Councillor Garon outlined some background on her impressions of the job that Councillors have. With a focus on interactions with the public beyond the Council chambers, wrapping up her presentation with some observations as to the amount of time that Council members sacrifice for the community.

Each councillor in attendance spoke to the topic, some such as outgoing Councillor Ashley inclined to allow for the report, though suggesting that the compensation level might be a little high, while others such as Councillors Cunningham, Carlick-Pearson and Thorkelson spoke to the timing of the suggestion as being a concern.

Key to those observations, Councillor Cunningham highlighted  the fact that the City has recently reduced a number of grants and struggled to adjust budget requirements in the last year.

While Councillor Thorkelson suggested that if the new council wanted to address the issue they could, but that with the City currently involved in contract negotiations with CUPE members, the prospect of any salary proposals wasn't something to consider at this time.

Most of those that spoke to the issue seemed in agreement that the Mayor's position should offer a higher compensation package, pointing to the work load and amount of time that must be dedicated to the Mayor's position.

In the end, the motion went down to defeat, meaning that if the subject is to come up again in 2015, it will be up to those members of the incoming council to make the case and hold discussions related to an increased salary plans.

You can review the full discussion from the City's Video Archive it takes up about ten minutes starting from the 2 hour five minute mark.




For more items related to City Council Discussion see our archive page here.

Council pushes ahead with Work Camp plans for Wantage Road, despite rough reception at Public Hearing

Overview of Land under
consideration for work camp
and lay down area off Wantage Rd

A few weeks back, when City Manager Robert Long first reviewed the plan to turn the old Garbage Dump on Wantage Road into a work camp site, the project was described by city staff as something that was thinking that was a little out of the box.

Highlighting the possibility for the City to make use of land currently not developed and in return, take advantage of an opportunity to re-purpose the area in ten to twenty years for other civic uses.

During Monday's Public Hearing into the zoning aspects of that proposal, a meeting held prior to Monday's City Council session, a number of residents reviewed the City's plans.

Offering up comments and observations on the topic, and providing for a perception that suggests that for them, perhaps the idea was one that the City might want to put it back in the box.

However, while Council listened carefully to many of the concerns of the eight residents who took to the microphone on Monday, when the time came to vote on the zoning proposal later in the Council session, Prince Rupert City Council decided to move forward on the proposal anyways.

To get to that decision required the input from the public through that Public Hearing, one which featured a presentation from the City Planner, Zeno Krekic.

As part of his review, he outlined the City's view of the project, making mention that the Public Hearing was but one phase of the proposal, with much of the discussion to come on issues related to the proposal would be addressed during the Development Permit process still ahead.

Mr. Krekic's observations were followed by a presentation from the representatives of Horizon North, the proponents of the work camp project.

They offered up a snapshot of what they have in mind for the Wantage Road project, which would call for Two main housing units, designed to hold 1,250 person each, with the camp site to be used to accommodate the work force for any LNG projects that may arrive on the North Coast.

To give Council a bit of an idea as to what their camps offer, they described the facility as along the lines of a four star hotel, with fitness, recreation and food services, as well as facility management and Security.

Proposed work camp development
for Wantage Road area

Overview shot of one of Horizon North's existing
work camps sites
taken from the company website

To address concerns over camp activities, the proponents advised that the Wantage Road project would be designated as a Dry Camp, with zero tolerance for alcohol.

Council members the asked a number of questions of the camp proponents, seeking more details on the camp project itself, as well as the proposed lay down area to be located at the old Trailer Park site on Wantage road.

As part of the question and answer session, Council members made inquiries regarding such issues as noise, safety, traffic, resident containment and access to Wantage road by the public seeking recreation activities in the area.

Council members also explored what kind of employment opportunities would be made available to local residents as part of any camp site development, as well as to what kind of training local residents could expect to access should the project move forward.

Following the line of questioning from the Councillors and Mayor, the public was invited to participate in the hearing, providing their own observations and questions regarding the proposal.

The eight participants provided for a mix of those living in the Haysvale Community adjacent to the proposed camp site, as well as others in city who had concerns over the larger social issues of the camp proposal.

For many, key concerns involved the issues of noise, traffic and the proximity of a large work camp being located so close to the urban area of the city. As well participants had questions and observations when it came to the environmental impact that the development may bring, as well as access to recreation options beyond the camp site in the Mount Hays area.

Some had concerns over the potential added costs to the City in the way of Police, Fire and other services, while residents of Haysvale in particular expressed their worry over the potential effect on the property values in the immediate area.

One submission to the Public Hearing phase came from the School District. With the District's Cam McIntyre providing a number of items for review for Council related to their research on camp developments in other communities.

As well, Mr. McIntyre provided a review of some of the concerns that the School District had in relation to the camps proximity to some of the schools in the city.

Once the public hearing process came to an end, Council would then revisit the topic as part of their Consideration of Amendments to the Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw provisions.

During that portion of the discussion, all of those Council members in attendance spoke in favour of the proposal, voting to re-zone the land in question.

As part of their review of the process, many highlighting the potential opportunities to the city that developing the site may offer should the proposal move forward. Adding that many of the issues outlined by the public could be addressed as the project moves forward.

For her part, Councillor Joy Thorkelson also addressed what she described as the vilification of camp workers, reminding Council that many of those that work in camps are there to do just that work and that some of the fears outlined in during the course of the public hearing were doing a dis-service to those that work in the camps.

The final comment on the proposal came from Councillor Cunningham who observed that Council was going around in circles on the issue, with the topic of the night mainly one to re-zone the land in question.

Further issues related to the project can be examined during the development permit process which will follow in the weeks and months to come.

For a full account of the Public Hearing and subsequent Zoning discussion as part of the City Council session of Monday see our City Council Timeline here.

You can learn more about what the Horizon North Camp concept offers other communities, from the company website here.

More background on the City's proposal can be found from the Agenda package of Monday's session, the subject of the Wantage Road proposal can be found from pages 22 to 47.

You can also view both the Public Hearing and the Zoning discussion from the City's Video Archive,
the Public Hearing runs from the 9 minute mark to the one hour twenty minute mark.

While the Zoning issue is up for discussion starting at the one hour thirty one minute mark through to the two hour five minute mark.

The video player can be found below.

 


For more items related to developments at Prince Rupert City Council see our Archive page here.

Downtown area blocked off by RCMP owing to ongoing police investigation; reports suggest no resolution expected until early Thursday AM

Updates: 7:30 AM Roads in the affected area were re-opened to traffic in the overnight  period, however no further information regarding the incident had been released as of yet.

Later in the morning the RCMP updated their media release on the incident advising that the store and immediate area had been searched by a Police Service Dog with the scene deemed safe and released at 1:30 in the morning.

The investigation into the incident continues and the RCMP are asking anyone with information related to it, to contact the local detachment at 250-627-0764

8:00 PM:  Prince Rupert RCMP issued a news release on Wednesday evening, providing some background to the day's developments, regarding a suspicious call received by the local Safeway. (see item here)

Details remain fairly scarce regarding an incident which started early afternoon on Wednesday, with members of the Prince Rupert detachment of the RCMP responding to a call at the Canada Safeway location on 2nd Avenue West.

Shortly after their arrival at 1 PM, all roads in the immediate vicinity were closed around the Second Avenue West and First Avenue West area.

As RCMP members and Prince Rupert Fire-Rescue attended to the call, city workers arrived to lend assistance  in the re-direction of all traffic, both pedestrian and vehicle to Third Avenue, the result of which provided for a large amount of congestion in the downtown core through the afternoon and into the early evening.

Since the early afternoon little in the way of further information has been provided regarding the incident, with no notice posted to the RCMP's Prince Rupert website, or that of the City of Prince Rupert.

Neither the City or the RCMP made use of their twitter options as the incident continued to unfold, something that might have assisted in spreading the word to avoid the downtown area through the day.

For the most part, word and rumours for the most part, spread through a range of social media options, with the CBC's Daybreak North Producer George Baker using twitter and the #PrinceRupert forum to provide the most consistent review of the situation , which was taking place one block away from the CBC studios on Third.

Other than the occasional note of interest from those that were passing by the scene, official information continued to be hard to find.

With that in mind, most local media outlets could only offer up occasional snippets of information, much of it variations of same theme of the early afternoon.

The weekly newspaper provided a short synopsis of the situation on its website, while the Terrace based radio station CFNR, also posted items  through its website and Facebook page.

From the website , CFNR provided a mid afternoon update with this very short review of the situation from Constable Matt Ericson of the Prince Rupert RCMP.

CFNR then followed up that interview with a Facebook notice shortly before six PM, that advises that RCMP operations regrading the still undisclosed situation will not be completed until 4 AM on Thursday at the earliest.

While it's understandable that police officials would not want to compromise any ongoing investigation, the lack of further advisories from police or civic officials is perhaps creating more issues that its solving.

Mainly in the form of local residents travelling to the area surrounding the incident scene to try and learn more on their own.

More information on the situation will be provided as it becomes available.

City provides outline and environmental report regarding Lot 444 plans

Prior to last evening's Public meeting held at the Highliner Inn regarding Lot 444 and potential LNG Terminal development for it, the City of Prince Rupert provided a pair of reports on the topic, presenting them on the City website.

The first was an overview of the proposal from City Manager Robert Long, who detailed the work done thus far on the file. Highlighting some of the environmental notes related to the proposal, as well as the economic benefits to the City from any proposed development at Tuck Inlet.

The City document which is part of the process ahead for re-zoning of land at Lot 444, stresses that even if the zoning process is approved, any proposed terminal from Exxon/Mobil still would require the need to go through the Environmental Assessment Process and receive all of the required permits from various levels of government.

As for potential benefits for the City,  according to Mr. Long's report Job creation could provide between 1,000 to 6,000 workers on site in the construction phase depending on final development plan, with expectations of permanent employment for 50 to 150 people upon any Terminal completion.

** Note of clarification: the above 50 to 150 people reference, is in relation to contract employment associated with the Terminal. During the initial phase of the development, permanent employment opportunity levels for the proposed Terminal are anticipated to number 300 across a range of positions (see page 2 of Mr. Long's report)

Direct economic benefits include the prospect of the proponents of the Terminal paying to the city 18 million dollars over 2 years for investigation purposes, included in that amount a 1 million dollar non-refundable deposit already paid on the transfer of title to Prince Rupert Legacy Incorporated.

As well the report highlights the potential economic revenue stream that the City may enjoy from any Terminal development, with estimates that the City could receive tax revenues in the range of 66 million dollars annually once the Terminal would be in operation.

Additionally, the report offers up the prospect that the value of lease payments or a purchase payment, will likely reflect an additional hundreds of million dollars to the taxpayer of Prince Rupert.

City staff also provided a range of recommendations for the City and the would be proponents of the LNG Terminal to consider.

The majority of them related to the findings of Dr. Faggetter, the local oceanographer hired by the City's Legacy Corporation to conduct a review of the environmental aspects of the proposed development area.

Among some of the key items:

Keeping a detailed, current and ongoing baseline for air quality monitoring

Develop an Air Quality Management Plan

Use gas turbine technology to delver the best available emissions.

Acquire detailed water chemistry for Shawatlans and Woodworth Lakes and if required the City will have to alter its water treatment process to mitigate any changes of Prince Rupert's drinking water.

Mitigate any noise and light nuisance from the proponent's LNG Terminal

Advocate for the inclusion of renewable energy sources into the Proponent's proposed project.

Advocate for the concept with the lowest air shed impact.

Consider the Raw Water Supply Line Replacement Project and have it take place before industrial development of Lot 444, reducing the likelihood of having to use water from Shawatlans Lake.

Take a precautionary approach towards any industry which might further increase ocean acidification of regional waters used by the shellfish industry in the region.

The second document posted to the City's website was the review of that  report compiled by Dr. Barb Faggetter.

Through her company, Ocean Ecology, Dr. Faggetter delivered a rather comprehensive overview of the environmental aspects of the project.

Offering 43 pages of scientific review, observations, graphs and maps, all of which expand significantly on the short talking points offered up by Mr. Long's report.

The report, provides a focus on two areas of concern for Lot 444, based on air shed impacts and watershed impacts.

Though as she states on page nine of her opening review, the report is limited in scope and does not address a number of issues which may be important towards any decision regarding the development of lot 444.

The preamble to more substantive review of air shed and watershed impacts, provides a comparison of some of the more prominent LNG projects suggested for the region and the overview that should the Exxon/Mobil proposal for five LNG trains move forward towards development, it would potentially be the largest project built in the region.

The bulk of the review is a scientific tutorial of sorts on a number of items of interest related to air shed impacts and pollutants and impacts that the proposed LNG project might have on Prince Rupret's air quality.

Dr. Faggetter also provides comparisons to emission levels from the days of Skeena Cellulose and offers up recommendations on how to reduce emissions produced by LNG plants.

The watershed review deals with acidic issues in the water related to production at the proposed LNG Terminal facility, reviewing any potential impacts on the City's water supply, on vegetation and  soil in the region, as well as on the marine environment in the area.

Her conclusions, which appear on pages 37- 40 of her report, were the genesis of much of what Mr. Long's overview provided for, though in a fairly more expansive approach.

With Dr. Faggetter providing far more detail on the impact of potential pollutants on the Prince Rupert airhshed and a more detailed analysis of how the City may wish to address it's drinking water requirements,  so as to reduce the likelihood of using water from Shawatlans Lake.

As Dr. Faggetter mentioned, her report was limited in scope to the review of the air and water concerns from any development of Lot 444.

Not mentioned in either of the reports were thoughts on any other topics of potential concern.

One item not addressed in these early days, was the proposed travel route of those LNG tankers which would be calling on any Terminal development along Tuck Inlet.

A transit which would see the LNG shipment vessels travel from the entrance to Prince Rupert Harbour South of Digby Island, working their way across the entire length of Prince Rupert harbour with a turn then into Tuck inlet before returning back down the Inlet to the Terminal location proposed for the east side of the shoreline there.

From South of Digby Island to that location, those vessels would be transiting the same area as a fleet of fishing vessels from the Canfisco Fish plant on the city's east side. As well along the way there would be the range of vessel traffic of the anchorages along the harbour, pleasure craft at the Yacht club and associated floats at Rushbrook and Seal Cove. In addition, there is also a fair amount of activity in that area related to the Sea plane traffic landing and taking off from the Seal Cove air terminals.

Making that particular route one of the more congested of transits that the haroubur waters of Prince Rupert may have to offer.

Potential issues we imagine, which may be investigated further through any of the Environmental and other review processes required for the project to move forward.

Then there are what could be the potential concerns of those living on the east side of the City.

An area of town where residents may prefer that any industrial development of LNG terminals take place at industrial sites located away from the urban area.  Such as those current proposals currently listed for the Lelu Island site, Ridley Island, Grassy Point and even the south shore of Digby Island.

Tuesday's information session provided an interesting review of the city's plans, a good portion of it offering the focus as to how much revenue the City could gain from such a development.

An important aspect for the City, which could raise much needed tax revenues from the large industrial development to direct to any number of civic issues.

A shift in the current revenue model when it comes to large projects, which would see the City be able to avoid such financial constraints as the PILT  (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) requirements that many other industrial sites in the region are subject to.

However the plan for Tuck Inlet and the process ahead still raises any number of questions that have yet to be answered, or addressed by Council. Making for much that residents may wish to stay up to date on, as Council considers its options for Lot 444.

You can review both of those reports from this link to the City's website.

For more background on the Tuck Inlet proposal and Lot 444 issues see our archive page here.

Province Issues certificates for Lelu Island Terminal and pipeline project

Tuesday was announcement day for the Province's Ministry of Environment, as the Environmental Assessment Office issued three Environmental Assessment Certificates for projects related to LNG development on the North Coast.

As we outlined earlier, Spectra Gas has been issued a an EAC for its proposed pipeline project, which featured the BG Gas proposal for Ridley Island as a destination for Northeast gas for shipment to world markets.

Also announced on Tuesday, were Environmental Assessment Certificates for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline, a cross province conduit, which would feed Natural gas to the proposed Pacific Northwest Gas Terminal project at Lelu Island.

The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline will run from the District of Hudson's Hope to the Lelu Island facility, should Petronas make a final investment decision to move that project forward.

That decision is anticipated to be made one way or the other sometime in mid-December, with any number of factors still be reviewed before the Malaysian energy giant announces it's plan..


The capital cost for the Pipeline alone is 5 billion dollars, with the province anticipating 23 full time jobs to be created upon its completion.

And while the announcement is another step towards the process of LNG development for the region, there is still a fair amount of work ahead for all of the projects that received their certificates on Tuesday.

As the province's information update outlines, various Federal, Provincial and Local government permits are still required for the projects to move forward and in the case of the Pacific NorthWest LNG facility, there is still the Federal Assessment Process that is currently under way to be heard from.

You can review the full announcement from the Provincial Government from this information Bulletin from Tuesday.

More background from the province on all three projects can be reviewed here.

For further items of interest on the Pacific NorthWest LNG Terminal and Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline project see our archive items here.

More information on the Spectra project can be found from our Prince Rupert LNG Terminal archives here.

Spectra Energy receives Environmental Assessment Certificate for LNG pipeline project

For the moment they might be wondering where to deliver their product, but if or when an LNG Terminal project comes to the North Coast, Spectra Energy is now one step closer to delivering natural gas from the Northeast to the Northwest.

Yesterday, the pipeline company outlined the receipt of the environmental Assessment certificate  from the province of British Columbia, moving ahead the process for the company's Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission Pipeline.

You can review some of the key aspects of that application from this backgrounder from the company

One concern for the company, might be the status of the BG Terminal project for Ridley Island, Spectra is a partner with the BG group on that development, and they like many in Prince Rupert will be waiting for further word from the British head office when it comes to the pause that BG recently put on their plans for the North Coast.

Still, Spectra also has hopes to partner with other potential LNG developments in the region and will no doubt be making use of its Environmental Assessment Certificate announcement towards that quest as the months move forward.

Spectra's announcement was one of three released from the provincial government on Tuesday, with both the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline project and the proposed Lelu Island Terminal for Pacific Northwest LNG also receiving their EAC's yesterday.

You can review the Environmental Assessment Office information statement here, more background on the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline can be examined here, the relevant documentation for that project can be reviewed from the Provincial government site here.

We have more items related to the BG Group proposal and the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline available on our archive page.

Aurora LNG to move forward on site evaluation of Digby Island site for LNG Terminal development

Should Aurora LNG, the joint venture of CNOOC/Nexen, Inpex and JGC Exploration Canada move forward on the North Coast, the preferred location for an LNG Terminal will apparently be found on Digby Island.

Aurora has requested that the Province of British Columbia transfer their sole proponent agreement from the Grassy Point location to the Digby Island option, a request that has been agreed to by the Province.

Aurora believes that the Digby Island location is a more suitable location for its planned export facility and will now move forward with its site evaluation work for that proposed terminal site.

The Aurora project would proceed in phases, with the first stage calling for two LNG trains and Terminal facilities to be developed with a timeline of 2021 to 2023 shipments, with expansion plans for two addition trains and additional storage facilities to come beyond that 2023 date.

As part of the move by Aurora, the province has collected two non refundable payments totalling 18 million dollars related to the proposed projects.

More information regarding the shift in focus for the Aurora project can be found from this item from the Province's Natural Gas Development website.

For more background on the Aurora proposal see our archive page here.

From Federal Government point of view; No change in mandate to sell Ridley Terminals

Ridley Terminals is once again the focus of a new item of note today from the  Globe and Mail, this one which features a look at the status of the process involved in selling the Crown Corporation to private interests.

Yesterday, as part of an overview of developments in the coal industry and the impact that they have had on Ridley Terminals, the Globe observed as to the declining volumes of coal shipments in recent months out of the North Coast Terminal and how those conditions may have played a role in a decision to hold back on further expansion of the terminal.

Today's Globe features a follow up article from Business reporter Brent Jang, who reviews the plan by the Federal Government to sell the Terminal.

Providing some background on the current status of that plan, with a statement from the Canada Development Investment Corporation, which is tasked with seeking a buyer for the North Coast coal terminal.

With CDEV Vice President Zoltan Ambrus delivering the update on those plans for the Globe:

“The sale process has faced numerous internal delays, but we continue to work to prepare for the sale of Ridley Terminals,”

“There have been no changes to the mandate given to CDEV by the government, which is to sell RTI through a competitive process in order to achieve best value from a purchaser who will operate Ridley Terminals on a long-term sustainable basis and with open access,”

Some background on that mandate from the Federal Government can be reviewed from this archived item from the Department of Finance website

More on what the CDEV is all about can be reviewed from their website

As we outlined on the blog yesterday, Mr. Jang provided a fairly expansive overview of the recent events at Ridley Terminals in the article that was published yesterday.

For more background on items related to Ridley Terminals see our archive page here.

Tough Times in the Bulkley Valley for the Rampage

This past weekend proved to be a struggle for the Prince Rupert Rampage, with a pair of losses to the Smithers Steelheads who climbed the standings in the CIHL West with some convincing victories on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday night was a dominating one for the host Steelheads, who scored three quick first period goals to set the pace for a final score of 8-2 by the time the final whistle blew.

Scoring for the Rampage came in the second period as Ben Towner picked up the first of the two goals for the Rampage, converting a Mike Coolin pass for the marker.

Kory Movold combined with Coolin and Towner for the second goal on the evening, putting a wrap on the Rampage scoring at 17:27 of the middle frame.

Smithers rattled off three more goals in the second period, with two more to come in the third on the way to the win that opened up the two game series with the Rampage.

One stat that stands out from Saturday night's game is that not one penalty was called in the course of the sixty minutes, making for a fairly easy game for the officials who for the most part were tasked with fishing pucks out of the net for the majority of the game.

With 8 goals on the night Smithers obviously spent a fair amount of time in the Rupert end of the rink, leaving Devin Gerrits to face 59 shots on the evening. 

Prince Rupert's offensive play accounted for 37 shots directed towards Smithers goaltender David Little, who held off the Rampage incursions for all but two of those shots.

You can review the box score from Saturday's game here.

Sunday afternoon offered up some push back from the Prince Rupert side, with the Rampage getting off to a quick start in the afternoon finale to their series.

Greg Sheppard opened up the Rampage scoring, firing the opening marker of the day at 5:16 of the period, with assists going to Kory Movald and Ben Towner.

The lead held until the mid point of the first when Smithers picked up two quick goals to head into the intermission with a 2-1 lead.

The Rampage tied the game up at 9:49 of the middle period as Derek Baker put the finishing touches on a scoring play that provided assists to Greg Sheppard and Jared Davis.

Smithers would regain their momentum in the final five minutes of the second, with two quick goals, however the Rampage made things interesting once again with Ben Towner converting a power play opportunity at 19:29 of the third, assisted by Kory Movald and Greg Sheppard.  

With the Rampage heading into the third period trailing by just one goal, they put pressure on the Smithers squad, but couldn't find the equalizer in the first ten minutes of the third.

Smithers finally put some space between themselves and the visitors at 9:20 grabbing the 5-3 lead and holding off any further Rampage efforts on the day.

Sunday's match up was a bit more spirited than the Saturday evening effort, with the Rampage assessed 2 penalties on the day, while Smithers sat for six minutes on three infractions.

Jarrod Hildebrandt did a remarkable job in the Rampage nets on Sunday, facing 60 shots on the day, at the other end of the rink the Rampage fired 35 shots at Smithers Keano Wilson, who turned aside all but 3 for the Smithers victory.

You can review the full box score from Sunday here.

The twin wins for the Steelheads set up a clear line between the top teams in the West.

With their four points Smithers moved six points closer to division leading Terrace, while both the Prince Rupert Rampage and the Kitimat Ice Demons continue with their struggles to make any head way in the standings.

Both teams have but one win and one Over time loss on the season, holding three points in the standings, with the Rampage having played one more game so far in the 2014-15 season.

Though for the Rampage, the parallel troubles for Kitimat of late, offer up the prospect of an ongoing battle for the final playoff position between the two squads.

Something that could get sorted out a bit this Saturday night, when the Rampage visit the Ice Demons in Kitimat. 

That game will bring to an end November's month long road journey for the Rampage, who on December 7th will host their first home game at the Jim since November 1st.

For more items on the Prince Rupert Rampage see our Results page here, or our Rampage Archive page here.

Legislature discussion on Bill 8 again reviews options for Nisga'a for LNG opportunities

The discussion on Bill 8, related to amendments to Protected Areas of British Columbia turned some of its focus on the land of the Nisga'a Nation this past week, as Skeena MLA Robin Austin asked a number of questions of Environment Minister May Polak.

With the Skeena MLA seeking clarification on a view items regarding recent announcements over the proposed natural gas pipeline through the Memorial Lava Bed in the Nass.

The Nisga'a recently concluded two agreements on that particular proposal, one with Trans Canada pipelines which we outlined on October 31st and the other with the provincial government which provides a number of benefits to the Nisga'a nation regarding energy industry initiatives through their territory.

The provincial agreement was signed on November 20th, some background on that aspect of the discussion can be found below:

CBC-- Nisga'a Nation signs LNG pipeline benefits deal with B. C.
Vancouver Sun-- Nisga'a sign LNG pipeline benefits deal with B. C.
Globe and Mail-- Nisga'a Nation agree to pipeline deal with LNG for B. C.
CFTK-- Nisga'a sign Pipeline Benefits Agreement with Province
Surrey Leader-- Nisga'a Nation signs on to LNG project
Terrace Standard-- B. C., Nisga'a sign pipeline deal

Last Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Austin focused on some of the aspects of the provincial agreement, as well as the plans for industry with the proposed pipeline, asking if any other routes had been proposed for the line other than through the Lava Bed park.

Environment Minister Mary Polak outlined the review that the project had been given by the proponents before the decision was reached with the Nisga'a which would provide for a small impact on the Lava Bed park.

There were a number of different routes considered. There were six conceptual routes that were evaluated by the company, including the one that we are dealing with today at the end. Three routes were considered that avoided the park entirely. These included a marine route through Alice Arm and Portland Inlet, a route through the Kiteen Valley and a route north of the Nass River.

They also examined two more southerly route options, known as the Alder Peak route and the south lava bed route, both of which would impact the park to some extent. [1440] I'm just trying to get to the nub of this here so you don't get too much extraneous information or unnecessary…. In landing on this route….

Ultimately, it's worth noting that this route has fewer water course crossings in comparison to the south lava bed route. Of course, as has been discussed in the debate in second reading, the current route choice follows quite closely the route of the highway — which, of course, tends to lessen the level of disturbance that will occur in the park -- Mary Polak, BC Environment Minister

Mr. Austin then turned his attention towards the natural gas pipeline itself, returning to a theme of earlier last week of a potential redirection of natural gas passing through the pipeline, to a possible LNG Terminal development in the Nass Valley, should the Petronas led project of Lelu Island not reach a final investment decision.

I realize that this amendment will only come into effect once the full environmental assessment certificate has been approved under the law. My question: if there is no final investment decision with regards to the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, will this amendment still come into effect, in any case?

Further to my previous question, can I ask the minister…? If indeed the project specified by this amendment does not take place, but another company chooses to, for example, build an LNG facility elsewhere on the coast — for example, within Nisga'a territory itself…. 

I think the minister is probably aware that the Nisga'a have visited Asia and have attempted to show specific sites within the Nisga'a core lands that could be used for an LNG plant. If the Pacific NorthWest was not to have a go, and they were to pull back for whatever reason, could this pipeline route then come into effect to further an LNG facility elsewhere? -- Skeena NDP MLA Robin Austin

That was a theme which we reviewed last week, tied in with the more controversial aspects of NDP leader John Horgan's tour of the Northwest of November 15th.

To bring his discussion in the Legislature to a close for the moment, Mr. Austin then sought out further guarantees from the province that the proposed LNG pipeline would not reconverted to carrying diluted bitumen or other oil project.

Can the minister confirm whether in the agreement with the Nisga'a Nation there is a guarantee that this pipeline route will only be used to transport natural gas and not be used to transport — or changed later on for — diluted bitumen or any other oil product? -- Skeena NDP MLA Robin Austin

For her part the Environment Minister outlined how the government did not have information as to whether or not that aspect was included in the agreement with the Nisga'a.

The proposed encroachment of the natural gas pipeline across Nisga'a land has not been universally hailed in the Nass Valley, as we outlined earlier this month there has been some push back on the proposal from a segment of the Nisga'a nation.  You can review that aspect of the story here.

Mr. Austin's more wide ranging review of the topic in the Legislature last Wednesday can be reviewed from the pages of Hansard, starting at the 14:35 mark.

The Video presentation is available from the Legislature Video Archive from Wednesday, Mr. Austin's discussion point starts at the 14:35 mark.

For more items related to events in the British Columbia Legislature see our archive page here.