The Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour has concluded that a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, proposed for construction at the Point Tupper/Bear Head Industrial Park on the Strait of Canso, is not likely to cause significant adverse effects on the environment. The approval was a key step forward for Access Northeast Energy Inc., which wants commercial operations to begin by November 2007 (see Daily GPI, March 12).

Kerry Morash, the Environment and Labour minister, said the terminal poses no problems, as long as the mitigating environmental conditions are followed. The industrial area where the proposed LNG terminal would be located is a deepwater port that already has an oil trans-shipment terminal. There also has been strong community support for the project.

Access, headquartered in Halifax, NS, proposes a two-phase project. Phase I involves construction and operation of a 7.5 million ton/year capacity marine LNG terminal, land-based storage tanks and a land-based regasification area with a gas sendout capacity of 1 Bcf/d. Phase II provides for the future expansion for a sendout capacity of 1.5 Bcf/d. The facilities would deliver gas into the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline, which serves eastern Canada and Northeast U.S. markets.

The environmental approval is key, but Morash said his department’s approval was “just the first” of several approvals required before the company would be able to begin construction. Under provincial regulations, the LNG proposal was required to conduct an environmental assessment because it includes a storage facility with capacity of more than 5,000 cubic meters for a liquid or gaseous substance.

Terms and conditions of the project address issues such as storm water management, air quality controls, and the development of emergency spill contingency plans. The company will also be required to submit a wetland protection and mitigation plan, as well as a monitoring plan for the protection of the Southern Twayblade (Listera australis) — a rare species of orchid.

The Department of Environment and Labour’s decision is available on its web site at www.gov.ns.ca/enla.

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