Proposed Summit Lake LNG PG Project comment submission

Hello Christine,

It was nice meeting you at the Summit Lake LNG Project Open House in Prince George last week.  Thank you for providing your contact details.  Our comments and questions about the project follow, as we were unable to find a comment field that allowed us to address all of our comments.

Summit LNG comments and questions – Les and Janice Baker

We have read through the JX Energy’s Summit Lake PG LNG Project Description with interest and excitement for the potential economic benefits and employment and contracting opportunities for Lheidli T’enneh and Lheidli T’enneh members.

We are interested in the project’s projected benefits and in its goal of reducing global GHG emissions.  Employment and contracting opportunities for Lheidli T’enneh members, close to their homes, will provide well paid jobs without the need to leave their community and families.

We are supportive of the Project and its potential benefits for Lheidli T’enneh members but want assurance the project will minimize habitat and ecosystem loss, protect air and water quality, mitigate impacts, and truly provide benefits for Lheidli people.

Having attended the April 10 Community Engagement session in Prince George, BC, we have the following questions and comments:

      Will a cumulative effects assessment be undertaken?  Specifically for air and water quality?

      Will the proponent install air quality monitoring stations on Lheidli T’enneh reserve lands to gather baseline air quality data?

      Will the proponent support creation of a socio-economic baseline study for Lheidli T’enneh? What about a Lheidli T’enneh Skills Inventory? Knowledge of current education and employment capacity will support education and training development to ensure Lheidli people accrue benefits from the project.

      What are the benefits of the project overall, and specifically to Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and its members?  Will the proponent make commitments in terms of jobs, contracting, impact benefit agreements, revenue sharing, other)?

      It is very important that the proponents, their workforce, and contractors understand Lheidli T’enneh ways of knowing and being, and have an understanding of past and current land use and culture, early in the process to guide engagement and development. Both local and Indigenous knowledge must be incorporated through the planning and permitting processes.

      As this is a new industry to the region, there is little understanding of the processes that will take place at the facility.  There is a need for descriptions and visuals of Project components and processes that can be understood by the general public.

      Do existing emergency response providers have the training and capacity to respond adequately to disasters at the proposed facility, its added pipeline, transmission line, and rails?

      Is there an established hazardous goods route for use for material transport to and from the facility?

      Do communities along the rail line between the facility and the Port of Prince Rupert have the training and capacity to respond adequately to rail accidents and incidents involving the final Summit Lake PG LNG product?

      How much water will the project require and which aquifers and watersheds will the water be provided from?  What are potential adverse effects to other water users, plants, wildlife and animals, and water quality?

      Will the proponent disclose when “best in class” environmental protections are not selected due to economics?

      LTFN is currently developing an Environmental Management Plan for its reserve lands. The proponent should be aware of this process and be prepared to incorporate the plan into its project as necessary.

       We would like to be informed about how the project may impact hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging (harvesting), and access to traditional sites and how the proponent will identify current activities and the potential project impacts.

Thank you for your time, Les and Janice Baker