The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada said it is making funding available to assist with participation in the impact assessment for the proposed Cedar LNG project, located near Kitimat, British Columbia.
The proposed project would process and liquefy natural gas to produce approximately 3 to 4 million tonnes of LNG per year and include storage capacity for up to 250,000 cubic meters of LNG, with a lifespan of at least 25 years.
The agency is providing the funds through its Participant Funding Program to assist the participation of the public and Indigenous peoples in the federal impact assessment for the project.
Funding is available for eligible individuals and groups to assist their participation in upcoming steps of the impact assessment, specifically for reviewing and providing comments on the draft information requirements that will inform the assessment.
Once this phase is complete, the public and Indigenous peoples will have another opportunity to apply for funding to assist their participation in the next phases of the impact assessment process.
The Government of British Columbia has requested that the conduct of the federal impact assessment process be substituted to the province. This means if the agency determines an impact assessment is required, and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change decides that the provincial process is an appropriate substitute for the federal process, the provincial government would conduct the impact assessment of the project on behalf of the agency.
As a next step, the Agency will determine whether a federal impact assessment is required for the project and if one is required, recipients and the amount of funding allocated will be announced at a later date. If the Minister approves substitution, the Agency’s funding will support participation in the substituted process led by the provincial government. If the Agency determines a federal impact assessment is not required, no funds will be allocated and there will be no further opportunity to apply for funding for this project.