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************************************************************* PURSUANT TO S.
40(3) OF THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ACT
(CEAA),
IN FURTHERANCE OF PURPOSES OF THIS ACT AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL
TREATIES THE UNDERSIGNED HEREBY
PETITION THE HONOURABLE MINISTERS OF
ENVIRONMENT AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE FOR CANADA WITH RESPECT TO THE GEORGIA STRAIT CROSSING
(GSX) PIPELINE PROJECT
AND REQUEST THAT A JOINT
CANADA-UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND STATEMENT BE CREATED
FOR THAT PROJECT July 11, 2001 *************************************************************
WHEREAS, (1)
The GSX project is international in scope and requires an international
environmental assessment The
proposed GSX Project is an international natural gas pipeline that will
begin in Sumas, Washington State, United States of America and consist of one
contiguous pipeline terminating at Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada.
Currently, Canadian and U.S. regulatory authorities are each carrying out independent
assessments of their respective portions of the project in isolation from each
other. For purposes of the Canadian
assessment, the project is treated as beginning at "a point on the
Canada-US border" in the middle of the Georgia Strait, while the U.S.
assessment treats the project as ending at that same point. Considering
the Canadian and U.S. portions of the GSX Project separately will result in a
bifurcated assessment process that fails to achieve the fundamental purposes of
environmental assessment, namely a thorough and integrated consideration of the
project in its entirety. In order for an effective and comprehensive
environmental assessment to take place, Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB)
and the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) must carry out a joint
international assessment that will review the GSX project in its entirety. (2) A joint Canada-U.S. process would further the stated goals of
quality and co-operative environmental assessments of both Nations Ensuring
a joint NEB-FERC assessment of the GSX Project would further the goals and
purposes of environmental assessment generally, and the stated mission of the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the "Agency") in particular. The Agency states that its purposes include
"providing Canadians with high-quality environmental assessments that
contribute to informed decision-making in support of sustainable
development." A high-quality environmental assessment, and one that
contributes to informed decision-making, must certainly be comprehensive and
must assess the proposed international pipeline in its entirety. The
Agency further identifies as priorities the advancement of the science and
practice of environmental assessment, clarification and improvement of
environmental assessment processes with other jurisdictions, and improvement of
the Agency’s capacity to monitor, assess and foster compliance. These
priorities all point to the need to work with the U.S. FERC towards a joint
environmental impact statement and assessment of trans-boundary projects such
as the GSX Project. Furthermore, as signatories to the Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact
Assessment in a Trans-boundary Context, both Canada and the U.S. expressed
their determination to enhance international co-operation in assessing
environmental impact in particular in a trans-boundary context. Canada and the
U.S. clearly appreciate the need to work jointly to assess international
projects like the proposed GSX Project. (3)
The Honourable Ministers possess powers to ensure a joint and
comprehensive environmental assessment of the Project The Honourable Ministers possess wide powers to
ensure that the evaluation of the environmental impacts of the GSX Project
considers the project in a comprehensive and inclusive way: §
Pursuant
to s.40(3) of the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Act the Ministers may enter into an agreement or arrangement
with another jurisdiction, including the government of a foreign state or any
institution of such government, respecting the joint establishment of a review
panel and the manner in which an assessment of the environmental effects of the
project is to be conducted by the review panel. §
Pursuant
to the terms of the Espoo Convention on
Environmental Impact Assessment in a Trans-boundary Context, to which the
U.S. and Canada are signatories, both Nations are obligated to take all
appropriate and effective measures to prevent, reduce and control significant
adverse trans-boundary environmental impacts from the project, including
through the cooperation in trans-boundary assessments. Establishing a joint Canada-U.S. review panel
process is the most appropriate and effective means of assessing the GSX
Project comprehensively and of ensuring that adverse trans-boundary
environmental impacts are prevented to the greatest extent possible. (4)
The Honourable Ministers are requested to take action Therefore it is resolved that the undersigned
citizens and residents of Canada, or representatives thereof, hereby request
the support of the Honourable Ministers in demanding an effective and
comprehensive joint Canada-US Environmental Impact Statement and Assessment of
the GSX Project. In particular, the undersigned request that the Honourable
Ministers immediately undertake the following actions: §
Initiate
discussions with their respective counterparts in the U.S. to negotiate and
empanel a joint review process of the GSX Project in its entirety. §
Convene
and create a joint Canada-U.S. review panel pursuant to CEAA to perform a thorough, public environmental impact assessment
of the effects of the GSX Project in its entirety on Canadian and U.S. citizens
and our shared environment. §
Ensure
that the public is kept informed of the joint Canada-U.S. review panel process
and that public participation is welcomed and encouraged in this process. §
Suspend
the current Canadian Joint Panel process until such time as a Canada-U.S. joint
panel is created, or until any unwillingness on the part of U.S. regulatory
agencies to participate in such a process has been fairly and fully determined
within the FERC evaluation process. Signed:
The petition will be delivered to
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