GOLDBORO: Environmental groups are headed to court to challenge the proposed rerouting of Highway 316, a realignment that is an essential component of the proposed multi-billion-dollar Goldboro Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project.
The Ecology Action Centre and the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA), represented by Ecojustice, will appear before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
Ecojustice lawyer James Gunvaldsen Klaassen told The Reporter when the Goldboro LNG project underwent an environmental assessment in 2014, the province hived off part of the infrastructure, which was the highway, and deferred the environmental assessment until last year. It received approval from the minister in April 2021.
“So it was essentially a part of the project, but was artificially carved out of it,” Gunvaldsen Klaassen said. “That approval from April of last year was challenged, we challenged that by way of judicial review by Supreme Court of Nova Scotia arguing that the approval was unreasonable and also the minister didn’t comply with a requirement to provide his reasons for that approval when requested, as required by the Environment Act.”
According to the Ecology Action Centre and NBASGA, the province unreasonably ignored comments submitted during the assessment process and ducked its responsibility to consider the serious climate and other environmental impacts that will directly result from approving this project.
In terms of climate change, Gunvaldsen Klaassen suggested fossil fuel infrastructure and facilities, especially new ones, create new emissions on top of existing ones, making it difficult to reduce emissions.
“The minister didn’t consider this when he approved this project, which is surprising given that we are, as I say in a climate crisis,” he said. “The second concern was that site is riddled with abandoned gold mines and is contaminated from former mining activity; so there are lots of toxic contaminants on site, which will be mobilized if they’re disturbed by digging and construction.”
The application also asserts that the minister didn’t provide legally acceptable reasons for his decision.
“Further as I said, the minister did not give any reasons in factual claims when it was requested, despite the fact the Environment Act requires them to do that,” Gunvaldsen Klaassen said. “All of those things are major concerns, and we don’t think they were dealt with properly or really at all within the decision that was issued.”
In July 2021, Pieridae LNG pulled the plug on their proposed $10 billion Goldboro LNG facility after not meeting all the key conditions necessary to make a final investment decision (FID). Alfred Sorensen, the company’s CEO suggested they had only fulfilled only four of the 12 requirements in the contract with Uniper SE.
The missing requirements included securing gas supplies, pipeline service contracts and project finance, terminal parts orders, and an engineering, procurement and construction contract, along with their FID.
“I have no idea what they’re planning now, there’s been lots of speculation and various statements that have been made, but there’s nothing concrete that has been demonstrated that any changes have been made from the actual plan, other than a few statements to media here and there,” Gunvaldsen Klaassen said. “If they have a plan, they should be straight with the people of Nova Scotia and actually provide that in a meaningful way so that could be assessed.”
He suggested as far as they know, those approvals stand, so that is worth challenging.
“So there’s that issue, but this project has not been withdrawn or cancelled by either the minister or by Pieridae, if they do that then we’ll reassess,” Gunvaldsen Klaassen said. “For the moment, it’s still very much a live thing, if they don’t need this approval they should be clear about that.”
Both the province and Pieridae have stated that the re-routing of Highway 316 around the Goldboro LNG site is essential to the Goldboro LNG Project, with Pieridae asserting that it “requires the realignment for the implementation of its proposed Goldboro LNG facility” and that the Goldboro LNG Project is “the reason behind the planned realignment.”
Despite this critical link, the lawyer said Nova Scotia Environment allowed a separate environmental assessment to be conducted for the highway project. This assessment, and ultimately the decision approving the project, did not consider the impact of future greenhouse gas emissions from the Goldboro LNG facility.
If they win, it would likely mean the project would have to go back and get reassessed and the minister would need to make a new decision based on the new assessment’s findings, according to Gunvaldsen Klaassen.
Through this preliminary motion, Gunvaldsen Klaassen advised the province is attempting to prevent the case from going to a hearing which would see these issues determined by the court.