First Nation taken aback as biofuel plant loses federal backing

A First Nation in British Columbia whose biofuel project has sparked controversy says it was caught off guard by a federal department's decision to pull its support for the proposal.

On Feb. 29, the federal Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources announced it withdrew its backing worth millions for the proposed renewable natural gas plant in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, which some local residents have opposed over potential long-term effects on local air quality and ecosystems.

Plans for the project, a joint venture between the Semiahmoo First Nation, about 50 kilometres southeast of Vancouver, and Taurus RNG, a Vancouver-based company that leads the development of waste to energy facilities, have been in the works since discussions began in 2018, according to the company's website. 

Chief Harley Chappell, leader of Semiahmoo First Nation, told CBC News he had no advance warning Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) would stop funding or backing his nation's project.

"We were obviously taken aback as we heard the news and were hoping for some sort of rationale as to why funding had been withdrawn, with no due course, or conversation with the nation," Chappell said in a text message.

"When our council met in Ottawa, there was a lot of excitement toward waste-to-energy initiatives especially on [First Nations'] lands."

The proposed plant —  which would be able to take 70,000 tonnes of organic waste from Vancouver annually to be converted into renewable natural gas — was to receive $14.4 million in funding from NRCan's Clean Fuels Fund, announced last June.

But eight months later, the federal department said on its website it "will not be enabling the project" and "no longer has a role" in the environmental assessment, a step the department's website said is required before any "funding, financing or issuing a lease or permit" can occur.

"Natural Resources Canada has announced the decision to withdraw its financial support for the project," Kerry-Lynn Findlay, MP for South Surrey-White Rock, told CBC News in an emailed statement March 2.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank and Indigenous Services Canada both remain involved in the proposal, federal spokespeople said on March 5.

Indigenous Services Canada told CBC News it is overseeing the impact assessment required for the project to be approved, but has not provided any funding for it. 

That assessment is required to issue the biofuel project an air quality licence before construction can start. If those approvals go through, construction could begin this summer and the facility could be operational by 2026.

WATCH | Surrey and White Rock, B.C., residents voice concern about the project:

Neighbours voice concerns about biofuel project on Semiahmoo land

1 year ago

Duration 2:19

Residents of White Rock and South Surrey are voicing their concern about a proposed biofuel project that could be built on nearby Semiahmoo land. The nation says the facility would be good for the economy, and would be built with environmental considerations top of mind. The CBC's Michelle Ghoussoub reports.

The reasons for NRCan's withdrawal are unclear.

The federal department declined to comment on its actions, or to confirm the status of its funding.

"NRCan is not able to comment on specific project applications and contract negotiations, in order to protect confidential and commercially sensitive information of parties involved," a department spokesperson said in an email to CBC News. 

In her statement, Findlay said the proposed biofuel project "has been a source of concern for many in the community who live, work and recreate in adjacent neighbourhoods."

One White Rock resident who has raised air quality concerns about the project is Robert Pierson, president of the non-profit Clean Air Alliance of Canada.

"It's high time that NRCan did appropriate due diligence," Pierson told CBC News in an interview March 3. "This facility is simply too close to residences, because the cumulative air quality that would result from these releases would be unacceptable to health.

"Any reasonable due diligence in the first place would have saved the taxpayer a considerable amount of money — and a considerable amount of general disharmony in the local community."

Last year, residents of White Rock and Surrey, B.C. — south and southeast of Vancouver, next to the border with the U.S. — voiced opposition to the project, citing concerns about the long-term impact on air quality and the safety around building the facility near dense residential neighbourhoods and lush wetlands.

Semiahmoo First Nation's Chappell had said at the time that the renewable natural gas (RNG) project would provide unprecedented economic opportunity for the nation, while diverting organic waste from landfill.

In a statement submitted last September to the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, the First Nation confirmed it had received funds from NRCan to help "move the project forward," and said it is "extremely excited to be a catalyst in pioneering clean technology" on its "sovereign lands."

Residents who live in the area have expressed concerns in the past about potential long-term impact of gases from the plant being dispersed over residential neighbourhoods. 

The Clean Air Alliance of Canada said the project should not be allowed to proceed, and said the plant's critics represent a "not in my back yard" reaction to the First Nations-led initiative. He said he believes the "perceived urgency" of supporting renewable fuels and Indigenous developments "must have clouded somebody's judgment."

"The local community here is 100 per cent behind the land in that area for Semiahmoo First Nation to be used for something," Pierson said. "But that does not include a gas production facility."

Chappell said he's unsure of the project's next steps, but that he would be seeking more information from Ottawa, and discussing the matter with his Taurus RNG partners, who did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.