Goldboro LNG Hits Regulatory Snag
Pieridae Energy’s Goldboro LNG project in the Canadian east coast province of Nova Scotia has hit a regulatory snag concerning whether sufficient consultation was done with the Sipekne'katik First Nation, which claims territorial and hereditary rights in Nova Scotia. The project has two European long-term customers lined up from the early 2020s.
In a September 14 notice, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB), which is considering Pieridae’s application to construct the 10mn metric tons/year Goldboro LNG terminal, said it will hold a public hearing at its Halifax headquarters on October 15 “to receive oral submissions in respect of the board’s jurisdiction to consider the fulfillment of the Crown’s duty to consult the Sipekne’katik First Nation” with respect to the project.
But Pieridae Energy, in a September 7 letter to the NSUARB, says it is not up to the board to consider whether the province’s consultation with First Nations is adequate or not.
Given the board’s narrow jurisdictional powers, Pieridae said, it “does not have, and cannot exercise, any jurisdiction to inquire into the nature and adequacy of the Crown’s actions in satisfying the provincial Crown’s duty to consult with the First Nations of Nova Scotia in relation to the proposed Goldboro LNG Facility.”
And regardless of whether the province’s consultations were adequate, Pieridae said, the Sipekne’katik First Nation’s claim that the Goldboro LNG project – which will be located entirely within the confines of the Goldboro Industrial Park in the county of Guysborough – will impact its territorial and hereditary rights is without merit.
“Sipekne’katik First Nation is a community situated in Hants county, which is approximately 250 km distance from Guysborough county,” Pieridae said in its letter to the board. “It is inconceivable that the construction of the Goldboro LNG facility could have any adverse impact on the aboriginal or treaty rights of the Sipekne’katik First Nation.”
Finally, Pieridae notes that it did try to engage the Sipekne’katik First Nation as early as 2013, but its attempts to contact the band council were rebuffed, “for reasons which apparently included the preoccupation of the Sipekne’katik band council with a forensic audit and a police investigation into a misappropriation of funds belonging to the Sipekne’katik First Nation.”
And as recently as May 2018, Pieridae said, it contacted the Sipekne’katik band office with a request to meet with the chief and band council to update them on the details of its plans and to answer any questions or concerns the band had.
“The proponent’s requests were never answered and the Sipekne’katik First Nation has not taken any initiative to contact the proponent with any questions or concerns,” Pieridae said.
Pieridae recently entered into an agreement to acquire western Canadian gas producer Ikkuma Resources, with one of the conditions precedent to that agreement being a timely approval of the Goldboro LNG project by the NSUARB. A delay in the board's deliberations beyond September 28, it said, would have a “prejudicial impact” on its efforts to “advance the Goldboro LNG facility” and may cause it “irreparable harm.”
The Sipekne'katik First Nation first raised the duty to consult issue in an April 24, 2018 letter to the board saying it had not been engaged in consultations regarding Goldboro. The NSUARB subsequently asked for more details from the Sipekne'katik, which were provided to the board in early September.
In that filing, Sipekne'katik First Nation chief Michael Sack said that consultations had been held with the Kwilmu′kw Maw-klusuaqn negotiation office (KMKNO), but noted that the Sipekne'katik is not represented by that organization. Furthermore, Sack wrote, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was reached with the Kwilmu′kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK) benefits committee, but the Sipekne'katik First Nation was not privy to the contents of that MOU.
“Regardless, Sipekne′katik has no records of any conversations with the Crown on any rights or claims the community may have for this proposed project,” Sack wrote, noting that a project’s impact on its rights must be addressed through consultation, “especially where deep consultation is owed.”
“Sipekne'katik is owed deep consultation on this matter and while the proponent states that ‘Pieridae has also taken a more proactive approach by following the principles of free, prior and informed consent′, there is no evidence available to support this,” he said.
Pieridae’s application to construct the Goldboro LNG terminal, the NSUARB says, continues to proceed on a separate track. Lloyd’s Register, selected by the board as its independent expert certifying authority, is reviewing the application “and will report to the board in due course respecting the certification and any recommendations respecting the safety of its proposed construction and operation of the LNG facility.”