Vancouver, BC - March 3, 2024 – The federal non-profit group The Clean Air Alliance of Canada (TCAAC) is raising questions about the future of the Semiahmoo Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Project after Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced it is withdrawing its $14.4 million in support.
This news follows previous revelations by TCAAC in November 2023 regarding the troubled history of Andion, the company initially involved in the project, and its subsequent withdrawal from the North American RNG industry.
(https://www.einpresswire.com/article/676485164/prospects-uncertain-for-semiahmoo-andion-rng-project)
Unanswered Questions and Lack of Transparency
NRCan's initial support for the project, announced in June 2023, was met with many questions from TCAAC. They raised concerns about the project's proximity to residential areas, schools, and sensitive environmental areas, as well as the apparent lack of due diligence conducted before public funding was pledged. A spokesperson for TCAAC commented “Why risk driving a wedge between Semiahmoo First Nation and the local community when the project and the company behind it, Andion (now Taurus RNG), were so obviously compromised? This project should never have received any public funding or reached this stage at all, and a basic level of due diligence before public support was announced would have nipped it in the bud as unnecessary, uneconomical, and unsuitable for this location! We feel that the ministries involved should have used far better judgement before this proposal was made public.” Further concerns were raised when the initial NRCan press release announcing support for the project disappeared from the government website in October last year
Requests for clarification went unanswered until February 29, 2024, when the Government website was updated to reflect NRCan's withdrawal. (https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/85705) which states: “As of February 16, 2024, Natural Resource Canada is no longer a Federal Authority for the Semiahmoo RNG Project as it will not be enabling the project. Thus, NRCan no longer has a role in the assessment of environmental effects of the project under s.82 of the Impact Assessment Act.”
“Under these circumstances, in the public interest we feel that clarity and transparency is now essential regarding who does have a role in the assessment of environmental effects of the Semiahmoo RNG project and on what basis these will be assessed?” adds Robert J Pierson from TCAAC.
Project's Fate or the Implications of NRCan’s U-turn Still Unclear
As another unexplained inconsistency, the air permit application for the project (#GVA1202), submitted by yet another shell corporation, Semiahmoo RNG GP Corp. to Metro Vancouver (https://metrovancouver.org/services/environmental-regulation-enforcement/air-quality-regulatory-program/permit-applications/permit/GVA1202), remains Active. However, NRCan's withdrawal leaves the project's future hanging in the balance.
One unconfirmed theory suggests that without NRCan's support, the project's financial viability may be compromised. However, a TCAAC spokesperson expressed concern that as a non-designated project on federal lands the removal of federal funding might remove the requirement for a full environmental assessment under the Impact Assessment Act and make it easier to push the project through to the detriment of the South Surrey and White Rock areas. Significantly, without Canadian Government funding part s.82 of the Impact Assessment Act no longer applies.
“The only certainty about the Semiahmoo RNG project is that the public and local community have been kept in the dark, no substantiated benefits have been identified, and that the potential risks to the local community in terms of air quality and harmony would be cumulative, substantial, and unacceptable. This RNG project has no place in South Surrey, and RNG has no place in the Fortis fossil gas network,” added Pierson from TCAAC.
Seeking Clarity and Transparency
TCAAC has requested clarification from relevant government officials, including Ministers Wilkinson and Guilbeault, NRCan, and the Business Development Bank of Canada, regarding the full implications of NRCan's withdrawal on the project's status and its compliance with the requirements of the Impact Assessment Act (S.C. 2019, c. 28, s. 1) https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.75/index.html .
TCAAC will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on their website: https://www.thecleanairalliance.org/latest-news-press-releases.html