BC environmental regulator orders LNG company to deploy ‘floatel’ near Squamish

A British Columbia government agency has ordered a liquefied natural gas company to send a cruise ship that has been refurbished to accommodate workers near Squamish, BC.

A statement from Woodfibre LNG says it has received a compliance order from BC’s Office of Environmental Assessment requiring it to move the vessel to its designated area in Howe Sound from its current berth off the coast of Nanaimo.

The District of Squamish has yet to issue a temporary use permit to allow the so-called floatel to be moored offshore at the LNG construction site.

But an inspection file from the BC assessor’s office says the project involves a requirement that all workers who did not live in Squamish before Sept. 20, 2023 must live on the floatel, unless they were granted an exemption.

The inspection is said to have found that about 300 workers were living in a construction camp in Port Mellon, north of Gibsons, BC; 30 were in Squamish hotels; and another 87 workers did not live in any of these locations.

The document says those accommodations do not comply with Woodfibre’s environmental assessment certificate for the project.

The floating vessel arrived in BC waters in January after a 40-day voyage from Estonia, where it was converted to house Ukrainian refugees.

A Squamish district staff report related to Woodfibre’s temporary use permit is included as an agenda item for Tuesday’s district meeting.

Squamish councilors voted three to four against a one-year permit at a meeting in May, where those opposed to the plan raised concerns about the safety of women and girls, traffic issues, waste management and potential hazards natural.

Councilors have since voted to send the matter back to staff and direct them to work with Woodfibre on increasing the security deposit for the floatel to $10 million.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press