At the end of the Oct. 20 cit council meeting, Coun. Joy Thorkelson briefly mentioned that the city has employed Dr. Barb Faggetter to do a study on LNG.
Dr. Faggetter is a registered professional biologist with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry/biochemistry and a PhD in biological and chemical oceanography, who has publicized the findings of her report LNG in the Skeena Estuary: What is the Risk to our Salmon? in recent months as well as making a presentation to city council in July.
Faggetter stated that building an LNG terminal on Lelu Island, as proposed in the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, would be detrimental to salmon stocks in the Skeena River because of its proximity to Flora Banks.
But Robert Long, Prince Rupert city manager, clarified that Prince Rupert Legacy, a wholly owned corporation of the city, hired Faggetter to undertake a report seeking out any scientific issues that could arise from the construction of an LNG facility on newly-owned city land, known as Lot 444.
The report will look at the usability of Lot 444 for the purpose of an LNG facility and will not consider any of the other projects. It will be used for information purposes and at an upcoming public hearing on Lot 444.