On September 27th, 2016, the Federal Ministers of
Environment and Climate Change, Fisheries and Oceans, and Natural
Resources announced the Federal Government's decision to
approve the Pacific NorthWest (PNW) LNG project, more than three
years after the federal environmental assessment process began.
This is a milestone decision for LNG development in British
Columbia, as it comes notwithstanding predicted significant adverse
environmental effects under the federal environmental assessment
regime. The federal Cabinet deemed those effects "justified in
the circumstances", signalling that, like the BC government,
it supports sustainable LNG development.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, as part of the
approval, released a decision statement that imposes 190 conditions
on PNW LNG, primarily relating to environmental protection and
Aboriginal consultation. Of note, the Lax Kw'alaams and
Metlakatla First Nations will be involved in setting up the
monitoring
