Coalition of Scientists Urge Rejection of Pacific Northwest LNG Draft Environmental Assessment
The Globe and Mail reports that more than 130 scientists have signed a letter to Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna requesting that she reject a “scientifically flawed” draft environmental assessment for the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG export terminal near Lelu Island, British Columbia. According to the article, the draft assessment found that the LNG export terminal could be constructed without causing major ecological damage to the nearby Flora Bank, which contains juvenile salmon habitat. The scientists allege in their letter that the draft assessment “did not adequately consider decades of scientific research on salmon in the Skeena River estuary and instead relied on proponent-funded studies that were substantially more limited in scope and duration and that reached different conclusions compared to the larger body of available science.”