WITH more liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and accompanying pipelines being announced regularly, three northwest environmental groups decided it was time people learned a lot more about what was going on.
The result is a website containing information on the ins and outs of liquefied natural gas from when the gas comes out of the ground to when it is piped to plants for super-cooling and then exported overseas.
“We’re only hearing from the industry and the government about the benefits and not the other issues. If there are to be impacts, communities need to protect their interests. People need a lot more information,” says Greg Knox from Terrace-based SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, one of the three groups.
“The challenge is that everything is happening so quickly.”
The site contains not only press releases and news stories about a multitude of proposed pipelines and LNG plants and links to the companies promoting those projects, it also contains studies on various aspects of LNG and there’s sections for comment and discussion.
There are also links to the various projects being promoted by companies for either Kitimat or in the Prince Rupert area.
“We mean this to be a place where people can express their concerns. And we’ll be updating it. What we’re trying to do is present factual and balanced information,” said Knox.
He did say he was disappointed with the provincial government’s response to the prospect of large scale LNG development in the region.
So far the province is only doing an airshed impact study stretching from Kitimat through Terrace to Rosswood and has given $150,000 to northwestern local governments to study what could happen if there is LNG development, said Knox.
“Beyond that, there’s been no money, no planning, nothing about infrastructure requirements,” he said.
Headwaters Initiative, which bills itself as a group providing information on impacts on river systems, and the Northwest Institute, a Smithers-based group, have joined with SkeenaWild to develop the site.
The website also contains a listing of informational events and contacts within the community.
The site be found at http://bclnginfo.com.
