U.S. company still hasn't given up on SE2

By Christina Toth
Vancouver Sun
11-Jan-2006

U.S. company still hasn't given up on power plant proposed for Abbotsford-Sumas border crossing

LANGLEY

Although the threat of a power plant at the Abbotsford-Sumas border
crossing seems to have been extinguished, the provincial government is
taking no chances.

B.C. lawyers are asking Washington's Energy Facility Site Evaluation
Commission to quash Sumas Energy 2's application to renew its
construction permit. The province gave EFSEC an 18-page submission on
Nov. 28 arguing against renewing SE2's permit.

Lawyers will add to that submission after an announcement by SE2's
proponent, National Energy Systems Corporation, that it will end its
push for a Canadian power line, B.C. Minister of State for
Intergovernmental Relations John van Dongen said.

"If SE2 is in fact not going ahead with a power line into Canada, and
that's essentially what they're saying by not going to the Supreme Court
of Canada, they have to make a whole new application [to EFSEC]," van
Dongen said.

On Thursday, NESCO's Chuck Martin, announced in a press release the
company will not appeal a Nov. 9 Federal Court of Appeal judgment to
uphold a National Energy Board decision made in March 2004.
Chilliwack-Kent MLA and Minister of Environment Barry Penner described
it as a gift for Fraser Valley residents.

"This is great news and it's a fantastic belated Christmas present for
Fraser Valley residents concerned about air quality," Penner said in a
new release.

Penner is returning from Thailand where he met up with a number of
tsunami survivors he met last year while assisting them in obtaining
health care and diplomatic services.

The NEB ruling last year denied NESCO's request to build a power line
into Abbotsford. The company needed the line to connect the proposed
natural gas-fired energy plant to the northwest power grid, as high
voltage lines are prohibited in Whatcom County, the region just south of
Abbotsford.

Martin said while the company will not take its appeal to the Supreme
Court of Canada, "SE2 plans to maintain its EFSEC permit and consider
options for the future of the project."

That would mean SE2 would have to build power lines through Washington
and its proposal should reflect that, according to van Dongen.

"Now they're obligated to present a new plan to EFSEC," he said.

While Martin's announcement seemed to end a seven-year battle between
the American company and Fraser Valley residents, van Dongen said it's
important the province stays vigilant.

Van Dongen, Penner, Abbotsford-Mount Lehman MLA Mike de Jong and
hundreds of residents have been fighting the SE2 project since 1999. The
province has spent more than $1.5 million on the legal battle.

Vancouver Sun

Posted by Arthur Caldicott on 11 Jan 2006