The developers of a major LNG project on the West Coast have been denied a ‘temporary use’ permit — for a toilet — over concerns for CO2 emissions from natural gas.And it’s causing a stink in the council chambers of the town of Squamish, the site of the Woodfibre LNG project.At its February 28 meeting, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District refused to issue a temporary use permit (TUP) to FortisBC — the province’s natural gas distributor — for offices and amenities on the site of the Woodfibre LNG project and requested more ‘information and collaboration’ to install amenities such as lunchrooms and toilets for field workers.That’s despite the fact the application specified the temporary buildings will use propane for heating, generators for on-site for electric and that sewage be transported out by barge. Clearing of the site will also be required, with remediation to be carried out after the buildings are removed.Why?.“The research I hear is that LNG is not better than coal and it's quite likely offsetting solar and wind, and not just coal,“Squamish councillor Chris Pettingill.Councillors reportedly had concerns whether the project would ‘de-carbonize’ international electricity markets as an alternative to coal.“The research I hear is that LNG is not better than coal and it's quite likely offsetting solar and wind, and not just coal, and there’s evidence from Australia and so on that when you start exporting LNG it pushes up natural gas prices and so on," said councillor Chris Pettingill, as per the local newspaper, Pique Newsmagazine. "Have we done anything to validate their claims of benefits?”.Without having the data at their fingertips, administrative staff referred the motion for more information.On that point, Pettingill noted the District of Squamish is “working aggressively” to get gas out of buildings, so making it easier to and cheaper to have gas is “contrary to the direction we’ve been taking in general.”Other councillors said they want to understand ‘the broader impacts of the project and its component parts’ and not consider each item related to the project alone. The motion was unanimously supported.The project is expected to employ 850 people at peak construction, which is expected to begin this year. It includes the construction of a liquefaction train, a floating LNG storage and offloading unit, an air-cooling system and marine docking facilities for LNG carriers. Woodfibre will produce approximately 2.1 million tonnes of LNG per year during operations.
