The provincial ministry responsible for the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has confirmed that a recent order for Woodfibre LNG to house workers on the floatel worker accommodations near Squamish overrides the District of Squamish processes.
“Under the Community Charter, municipal bylaws that are inconsistent with provincial legislation, including the Environmental Assessment Act, have no effect,” said a spokesperson for British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment in an emailed statement to The Squamish Chief.
“After a multi-year assessment and extensive engagement with Squamish Nation, the District of Squamish, various NGOs and the public, the EAO approved the use of the floatel as an alternative housing option to a traditional work camp or the use of hotels in Squamish to ensure that housing, traffic, and community services in nearby communities were not adversely affected,” they said.
The order from the EAO, dated June 17, required Woodfibre LNG to house all workers associated with the project on the floatel in Howe Sound by 5 p.m. Friday, June 21—before the District of Squamish could have issued a temporary use permit (TUP) for the facility to operate within municipal regulations.
According to the EAO, an investigation earlier in June found that Woodfibre LNG workers were being housed in the community and in other areas not permitted under the project’s environmental certificate, prompting the order for the workers to be relocated within four days to come into compliance.
In response to questions on whether the order was an explicit override of the District of Squamish, the Ministry of Environment spokesperson re-iterated the nature of the order to move workers on board the floatel, which they added “will be moored near the Woodfibre site.”
The order prompted Woodfibre LNG to withdraw from the TUP process with the District of Squamish, citing the municipal timeline as not being consistent with the order that came from the province. The TUP process had gone on for three months, with the issue discussed at four council meetings, and going to a public hearing—without a TUP being issued.
The statement from the ministry goes against the opinion voiced by the Mayor of the District of Squamish, Armand Hurford, who responded to the news that Woodfibre LNG was withdrawing from the process because of the order by saying he disagreed with their interpretation.
"This order has been interpreted by the proponent to supersede the jurisdiction of the District of Squamish, and here we differ in opinion," he said at a June 18 council meeting, which would have been the fourth meeting that the TUP was discussed at.
"This order, in our assessment, directs them to resolve the issues and work through the TUP permitting process. They've chosen to withdraw from that process. Where that leaves us at this point is disagreeing on the interpretation of this, and as to next steps, they remain to be seen."
Even before the statement from the ministry overriding that interpretation, Woodfibre LNG was moving to come into compliance with the provincial order, which a Woodfibre LNG spokesperson said had only been issued because the District of Squamish had not issued its own TUP.
The spokesperson confirmed that Woodfibre LNG interpreted the order as a provincial override.
"A provincial order overrides District zoning approval and compels the company to comply with our Environmental Assessment Certificate, which mandates the use of the floatel at site for workforce housing," they said.
They added that Woodfibre LNG would continue to work with the District of Squamish, and "if the District wishes to issue a TUP in the circumstances where an order already applies and the conditions that had been proposed for a TUP no longer apply, Woodfibre LNG will work with District staff on next steps."
Local advocacy group, My Sea to Sky, which has been campaigning against the Woodfibre LNG project for a decade, disagreed with the Woodfibre LNG interpretation, with executive director of the group, Tracey Saxby telling The Squamish Chief in an emailed statement that they believed the company had made a mistake.
Saxby said that My Sea to Sky was working on next steps, and that they believed the District of Squamish should continue to seek a TUP for the floatel.
Leaning into the local permitting side, Saxby added that the District of Squamish had been "addressing many issues and concerns that were ignored or slipped through the gaps in the provincial and federal regulatory process."
The Squamish Chief has reached out to the District of Squamish for a comment and will update this story when we hear back.
