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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2013
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District fights timber swap By Walter Strong Black Press
CHRISTMAS Singing
Jackie Lieuwen/Houston Today
Twain Sullivan students Salish and Mary lead the school in singing “Still a Long Way to Go” in the annual Twain Christmas Concert last Thursday. See page 10 for more photos of school Christmas celebrations.
The Canadian Competition Bureau is reviewing the proposed swap of timber licenses between West Fraser and Canfor announced at the same time as the closure of mills in Quesnel and Houston were announced. At the time of the announced closures both companies said they were reducing their mill capacity in response to a lack of good fibre post-pine beetle. The swap of timber licenses was part of their plan to prevent further mill closures. The timber swap was announced without, it seems, consultation with either the province or local communities. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO) still hasn’t formally ap-
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“[The extra volume] should stay for the town of Houston,” - Houston Mayor Bill Holmberg
proved the arrangement, and it is unclear how the the results of the competition bureau review might affect the province’s eventual decision. The swap would see most of West Fraser’s timber license in the Morice timber supply area (TSA) go to Canfor in support of Canfor’s Houston mill, but West Fraser would retain a portion of that timber supply, as well as gain new timber in the Lakes TSA. See SWAP on Page 2
JRP approves Enbridge pipeline with 209 conditions By Tom Fletcher Black Press
A federal environmental review panel has recommended Enbridge’s Northern Gateway heavy oil pipeline can proceed if 209 conditions on environmental protection are met. After 18 months of submissions from ex-
perts and the public, the National Energy Board Joint Review Panel concluded the benefits of a twin pipeline from northern Alberta to a proposed tanker facility at Kitimat outweigh the risks. Its two-volume report was released Thursday in Calgary. “The environmental, societal and eco-
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“No energy project will be approved unless it is safe for Canadians,”
nomic burdens of a large oil spill, while unlikely and not per-
- Minister Joe Oliver manent, would be significant,” the panel concluded in its re-
port. “Through our conditions we require Northern Gateway to implement appropriate and effective spill prevention measures and spill response capabilities, so that the likelihood and consequences of a large spill would be minimized.” The panel said there would be significant effect on some popu-
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lations of woodland caribou and grizzly bear, and uncertainty remains over the effectiveness of Enbridge’s plans to minimize the disruption the pipeline would cause. “It is our view that, after mitigation, the likelihood of significant adverse environmental effects resulting from project
Smithers, BC
malfunctions or accidents is very low,” the report states. Conditions include protection plans for whales and other marine mammals, measures to protect caribou and other land animals and development of methods to track and deal with diluted bitumen spills. See PIPE on Page 12
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