FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VANCOUVER 20th Mar 2023 - PRESS RELEASE for immediate distribution
The Semiahmoo RNG Gas Production and Refinery Project Permit "PAUSED" by Metro Vancouver, But...
After The Clean Air Alliance of Canada served a challenge to the Permit application number GVA1202 with 20 points raised on Tuesday the 12th of March, followed by 1000 local residents who also objected to the same points raised about this highly contested waste to gas project, Metro Vancouver suddenly changed the status to: Application Review Paused.
We had previously challenged the NRCan funding of this project on the basis of the controversies surrounding the original proponent Andion, resulting in Andion's sudden departure from North America and the removal of NRCan funding on February 29th, TCAAC attention then turned to the actual Air Permit Application, and the 800+ pages of application information finally released after a request last November.
"We still don't know what any of this really means" said Robert J Pierson, Co-founder & President of www.thecleanairalliance.org "But we're cautiously optimistic that both the Government and Metro Vancouver are finally coming to their senses. Why anyone could have thought that a project of this size being built by an unknown Company in North America, so close to residential areas and ecologically sensitive areas was a good idea is beyond us. I can only repeat what we've said previously; Why risk driving a wedge between Semiahmoo First Nation and the local community when the project and the company behind it, Andion (now Taurus RNG), were so obviously compromised? This project should never have received any public funding or reached this stage at all, and a basic level of due diligence before public support was announced would have nipped it in the bud as unnecessary, uneconomical, and unsuitable for this location! We feel that the Ministries involved should have used far better judgment before this proposal was made public.”
We have reached out for a public statement from Metro Vancouver, Kathy Preston, the honorable Patty Hajdu and Jonathan Wilkinson as to an unambiguous status of this project, until which time the Public Information Meeting scheduled for Sunday 24th of March 3-5pm will go ahead. For more details and to register for places, please see: https://www.thecleanairalliance.org/events-opposing-semiahmoo-rng.html
However, in an email received late today, Kathy Preston said "With respect to scheduling a public meeting, we are waiting to receive additional technical information that we requested from Semiahmoo RNG GP Corp and our review of their application has been paused until we receive that information. I am currently of the view that it would be preferable to hold a public meeting after we have received that information. The status of the air permit application review process will be updated on this webpage Permit Applications in Progress | Metro Vancouver when the review process is resumed." So it's 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗨𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 - 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀.
For media inquiries, please contact:
B. Dyson - Press Relations Officer
The Clean Air Alliance of Canada
media@thecleanairalliance.org
