BACKGROUNDER 2006ENV0018-000311 Ministry of Environment March 29, 2006
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BACKGROUNDER 2006ENV0018-000311 Ministry of Environment March 29, 2006 SE2 TIMELINE 1999 – National Energy Systems Co. (NESCO) of Kirkland, Washington, first applied for permission to Washington State’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC), but NESCO subsequently modified their proposal. Summer 2000 – EFSEC conducted a regulatory review. Many Canadian citizens traveled to Washington State to participate in public hearings. B.C. Liberal MLAs Barry Penner (Chilliwack), John van Dongen (Abbotsford) and Mike de Jong (Matsqui) monitored the hearings, made submissions and were eventually successful in prompting the previous B.C. government to also state its opposition to the proposal. February 16, 2001 – EFSEC unanimously recommended against this project. But before Washington State Governor Gary Locke could decide whether to accept the recommendation, NESCO withdrew its application and announced plans to file another amended application. June 29, 2001 – NESCO filed an amended application to EFSEC for an expedited review. Premier Gordon Campbell and Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection Joyce Murray wrote to EFSEC seeking official intervener status for the B.C. government. July 2001 – EFSEC granted B.C.’s request for official intervener status at the review of the amended application. October 2001 – The B.C. government was granted full intervener status at the hearings and took part, including the presentation of air quality evidence. May 24, 2002 – EFSEC reversed itself and recommended in favour of the SE2 project despite a finding in EFSEC’s final supplemental impact statement (dated May 16, 2002) that with “dozens of sizeable gas-fired power plants” on the way already in the region, “the combined output potential of all proposed facilities far outweighs any forecasted demand.” Governor Locke had 60 days to decide whether to permit the project to proceed. During this interval, Premier Campbell wrote two letters to Governor Locke to highlight B.C.’s opposition to SE2 and followed up with a phone conversation. July 2002 – MLA Barry Penner travelled to Olympia to meet with Governor Locke and pointed out some better alternatives. Abbotsford Mayor George Fergusson and Councillor Patricia Ross also told the Governor why they are opposed to SE2. August 2002 – Governor Locke approved the project. The B.C. government appealed the air emissions permit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but was unsuccessful. May 26, 2003 – Formal National Energy Board hearings began in Abbotsford. SE2’s owners have said they want to build a new, 8.5-km 230-kilovolt power line into Canada, north through Abbotsford, B.C. to BC Hydro’s Clayburn substation. This would connect SE2 to BC Hydro’s transmission system, providing access to potential customers in Alberta and eleven U.S. states. SE2 applied to the National Energy Board (NEB) for permission to build a power line through Abbotsford. -more- - 2 - SE2 wanted the NEB to only consider the impact of the power lines, but the B.C. government and others successfully argued otherwise. Both the Province of British Columbia and the City of Abbotsford retained legal counsel and were official interveners at the NEB hearings. In addition, MLA Barry Penner, Minister John van Dongen, Minister Mike de Jong, MLA Randy Hawes and MLA John Les made presentations. March 4, 2004 – The three-member NEB panel unanimously rejected SE2’s request to build the international power line. The NEB ruled there were few, if any, benefits to Canadians, while virtually all the negative consequences would be imposed on Canadians. April 3, 2004 – SE2 submitted an application to seek leave to appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal. The Province considered this challenge to be based on neither law nor jurisdiction. May 7, 2004 – The Province, the City of Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley Regional District as “Respondents” formally opposed the application. July 20, 2004 – SE2 was granted Leave to Appeal by the Federal Court of Appeal. The Court’s decision was not unexpected and the Province continued to retain legal counsel for the appeal hearing. Sept. 15, 2004 – The Province received a filed copy of SE2’s Notice of Appeal. It was one more step in the appeal process. A number of other filings were expected and the process was expected to conclude with a hearing before the Court by mid-2005. The hearing was expected to take place in Vancouver and last two to five days. Based on the complexity of the case, a decision was expected to take several months. February 2005 – In January 2005, the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council approved an extension to the SE2 air permit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed off on the approval. The Attorney General’s office instructed U.S. lawyers on retainer to the B.C. government to appeal the EPA portion of the extension to the EPA’s Environmental Appeal Board, the same agency to which it appealed the original air permit granted to SE2. June 2005 – The Province lost its appeal to the EPA. Nov. 9, 2005 – The Federal Court of Canada unanimously upheld the decision by the National Energy Board to deny the application by SE2 to build a power line through Abbotsford. The court scheduled hearings for Nov. 7- 9 in Vancouver, but concluded earlier than expected and produced an oral decision that took about 30 minutes to deliver. Jan. 6, 2006 – Although they had the option to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, SE2 decided not to appeal the Nov. 9, 2005 decision by the Federal Court of Canada that unanimously upheld the decision by the National Energy Board. SE2 later withdrew its request to the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council for extension to an air permit due to not having a viable transmission option after its Canadian appeal failed. SE2 begins looking at transmission options in Washington State. March 28, 2006 – Sumas Energy 2 Inc. informs the Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council that it has decided to terminate the SE2 project. -30- Media Don McDonald contact: Communications Director 250 387-9973 For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. .