UPDATED with comments from District of Kitimat, Terrace and the Gitga'at Nation A preliminary seismic hazard assessment by Natural Resources Canada has identified possible earthquake scenarios for the Douglas Channel near Hartley Bay, Terrace and Bella Bella. The same studies indicate that while Kitimat may not be directly in a seismic zone prolonged earthquakes cause […]
Fewer salmon; many more sardines. That's one of the predictions from a new study from the University of British Columbia, looking at the future of the fishery on the coast. The study concentrates on the First Nations fishery and warns that aboriginal people could face a catastrophic decline in the harvest of traditional species, especially […]
The B.C. government acted improperly and "breached the honour of the crown" when it signed away a provincial review and gave the federal Joint Review Panel for responsibility for assessing the environmental impact of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, Madam Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg of the Supreme Court of B.C. ruled Wednesday. In a largely technical […]
Three studies of the geology of Douglas Channel are near completion and publication, according to Natural Resources Canada. That news comes as studies, released today, warn of a major megathrust earthquake on the fault west of Haida Gwaii. Northwest Coast Energy News asked the Geological Survey of Canada if there were any recent updates available […]
Studies of the October 2012 magnitude 7.8 Haida Gwaii earthquake show that the region is vulnerable to a “major megathrust” earthquake along a newly confirmed fault line west of the islands. That earthquake was felt in Kitimat and Kitamaat Village and a tsunami warning was issued within a few minutes. So have the District of […]
There's a dumb, dumb, really dumb idea that just won't go away—that Enbridge could solve all its problems if only, if only, it would send the Northern Gateway Pipeline to Prince Rupert. Enbridge long ago rejected the idea. Before Enbridge updated its website to make Gateway Facts, to make it slick and more attractive, the […]
The sudden release early Friday, July 18, by the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment about the Kitimat Valley air shed study brings more questions than the answers it provides; some questions are political, some technical. The questions include 1. Why was the study suddenly released after the province said it was “privileged?” 2. Did […]
Excerpts from the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel report relating to the Exxon Valdez disaster. Northern Gateway told the Joint Reivew Panel that on a worldwide basis, all data sets show a steady reduction in the number and size of oil spills since the 1970s. This decline has been even more apparent since regulatory changes in […]
The list of participants in the oil spill preparedness and response study released last week by the federal government shows two glaring no shows, the District of Kitimat and Rio Tinto Alcan. The Haisla Nation and the Gitga'at Nation did provide written submissions to the panel. The expert panel was set up by the federal […]
Two of the maps filed by the LNG Canada project with provincial and federal environmental assessment agencies look at the air quality problems from the project, including the controversial prospect of cumulative problems from multiple industrial projects in the Kitimat Valley, one of them the RTA Kitimat Modernization Project which will increase sulphur dioxide emissions […]