Steehead LNG (liquified natural gas) recently submitted a description for its proposed Kwispaa LNG project to the Canadian and BC environmental assessment agencies. Next door to Clayoquot Sound and about 45 kilometres south-southwest of Port Alberni, a 730 hectare natural gas liquefaction and export facility is proposed for Sarita Bay in Barkely Sound. Split two-thirds on land, one-third floating on the ocean, the facility would export an estimated 24 million tons of liquid natural gas per year at full build-out, requiring six to seven LNG carrier ships weekly.
To supply the terminal with gas, a 1000 kilometre pipeline is also proposed. Starting in northeastern BC near Chetwynd, the pipeline would thread across the province to the ocean at Powell River using “new and existing corridors,” then cross under the Salish Sea to Comox, and finally overland again to Sarita Bay.
In defense of climate justice, Friends of Clayoquot Sound are supporting opposition to Kwispaa LNG. Together with the Barkley Sound Alliance, we are advocating for Kwispaa LNG project to be rejected for the blatant cumulative climate impacts that will propel global climate destabilization. It’s time to move beyond fossil fuels.
