S TANDARD TERRACE
1.30
$
$1.24 PLUS 6¢ GST
VOL. 27 NO. 39
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Local pipelines key to refinery TWO PIPELINES, both of which would have to traverse the Skeena River west of Terrace in some fashion, surface in a multi-billion petroleum refinery proposal released last week. The pipelines, one for gasoline and the other for diesel, would extend 120 kilometres from the proposed Pacific Future Energy Corporation refinery location on the Dubose Flats between Terrace and Kitimat north to an undefined marine export terminal location on the Portland Inlet on the coast north of Prince Rupert. “Early third-party studies suggest a marine terminal could be situated along the Portland Inlet, in the event such a development were to secure the support of a host First Nation,” indicates a project description submitted to federal and provincial
regulators. “If such a marine terminal were to be developed, we anticipate that two (one for gasoline and one for diesel) short (120 km) pipelines, developed in partnership with First Nations along the route, could be built to support the marine terminal’s operations,” the project description reads. Pacific Future official Don MacLachlan, speaking last week, was confident a river crossing could be accomplished. “New techniques for putting a pipeline under rivers and lakes are proven,” said MacLachlan in emailed comments. Should Pacific Future be successful in its $15 billion refinery plan and should those pipelines be constructed, the company anticipates Panamax-size ships being
used to transport gasoline and diesel to overseas markets. This term refers to the size limit for cargo ships passing through the Panama Canal with a maximum length of 950 feet, a width of 106 feet and 189 feet in height, according to online specs. The potential Portland Inlet export terminal location stands in contrast to other planned petroleum product ones which instead feature Kitimat as the location for loading tankers. In particular, Enbridge’s Northern Gateway plan to export crude oil from a Kitimat terminal has been criticized by those who are not convinced tanker traffic would be viable coming up and then leaving that area via the Douglas Channel.
Cont’d Page A13
Land clear to develop By JOSH MASSEY
JOSH MASSEY PHOTO
■■ A winning situation THE ATOM development program took advantage of the old-timers tournament on Jan.16 to sell raffle tickets in support of their bid to send a team down to a tournament in Richmond. That’s Aidan Korving, Mark Pietralla and Linden Anderson selling raffle tickets at the Terrace Sportsplex. The winner will take home a new ATV at a draw held March. 5. The tournament they are vying to enter is on March 12-15.
CITY PLANS to sell off land it owns are moving forward, thanks to information council has received from a consulting company. One parcel, 2.79 acres along Greig Ave., on what was once the site of a Terrace Co-op shopping centre, could soon receive a clean environmental bill of health from the province, council learned in a report from Golder and Associates and released Jan. 11. That parcel has been under option to a Calgary hotel developer, Superior Lodging, since 2013, but the sale has been held up over worries about contamination potentially spread from a gasbar which was part of the Co-op complex but separated from the larger parcel wanted by Superior Lodging. Drilling and sampling of soil from the gasbar location which is on the corner of Kalum and Greig (the easternmost edge of the Co-op lands) has found contamination to be minimal and to have had no impact on the parcel optioned by Superior, Golder in-
dicated. “They are confident that they have found the line where they can delineate where the contamination is,” city economic development manager Danielle Myles told council of the Golder work at a meeting Jan. 11. “They will be proceeding to the ministry of the environment to request a release so we can subdivide the property and complete the sale with Superior.” But because the earth shifts and changes with the seasons, the city might have to pay more money to update the study in the spring, she cautioned, though the amount is expected to be small compared to what has been spent so far. The news of low contamination was greeted with optimism by councillor Brian Downie. “It’s good news,” he said. The total cost of that investigation was approximately $138,000 but half was paid for by a Federation for Canadian Municipalities grant.
Cont’d Page A4
Open space
Ban for fluoride
Fresh powder
Local cancer society relocates for more space, better access \COMMUNITY A8
Local man collects signitures to petition city with health concerns \NEWS A23
Two Shames skiers hit Red Mountain slopes in national championship \SPORTS A21