The Nisga’a Lisims Government building in the village of Gitlaxt’aamiks in northwestern B.C. in 2023. The B.C. government has conditionally approved an LNG project backed by the Nisga’a Nation.Jesse Winter/The Globe and Mail
The B.C. government has conditionally approved a liquefied natural gas project backed by the Nisga’a Nation.
Environment Minister Tamara Davidson and Energy Minister Adrian Dix have issued an environmental assessment certificate for Ksi Lisims LNG.
“The ministers imposed 23 legally enforceable conditions in the provincial certificate that Ksi Lisims LNG must follow over the lifespan of the project,” the B.C. government said in a news release on Monday.
“Key requirements include a greenhouse-gas emissions plan requiring Ksi Lisims to meet the province’s net-zero policy and update it every five years.”
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Other conditions include “connecting to the BC Hydro power grid to provide sufficient electrical capacity for operations once BC Hydro is able to provide service.”
The Nisga’a, Western LNG and a group of natural gas producers named Rockies LNG are partners in the Ksi Lisims project near Gitlaxt’aamiks, which is home to the elected Nisga’a Lisims government.
“In making their decision, the ministers acknowledged that while not all First Nations’ concerns have been resolved, they are satisfied that the conditions and requirements included as part of the environmental assessment certificate reasonably avoid, minimize and accommodate the potential adverse effects on First Nations and their interests,” the B.C. government said in the news release issued through the province’s Environmental Assessment Office.
Plans call for construction of the 750-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline project that would transport natural gas from northeast B.C. to Pearse Island on Nisga’a territory in northwest British Columbia.
A floating production unit is to be constructed in South Korea for Ksi Lisims, which would build various other LNG infrastructure on Pearse Island and aim to start exports to Asia in 2029. The construction costs alone for Ksi Lisims are expected to total $10-billion.
Environmentalists and climate activists criticized the decision to approve Ksi Lisims.
“This LNG terminal will harm the marine environment and irreplaceable Nass River salmon while the pipeline will dig through hundreds of salmon-bearing streams in both the Skeena and Nass watersheds,” Shannon McPhail, co-executive director of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, said in a statement late Monday.
Shell PLC-led LNG Canada started shipping natural gas in liquid form to Asia from Kitimat, B.C., in June, when it became the country’s first LNG export terminal.
In 2023, the federal government designated B.C.’s environmental regulator to lead the review of Ksi Lisims, in collaboration with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
Julie Dabrusin, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said on Monday that she also has given the green light to Ksi Lisims.