Nexen, Get Out of Dodge!

Dodge Cove is a 100 year old community of 40 full-time residents plus more seasonal and part time residents living on Digby Island, located across the harbour from Prince Rupert.

Nexen, a gas giant based out of Calgary, was purchased by the Chinese state-owned oil company, CNOOC. They are working with the BC government to build Canada’s largest liquefied fracked gas exporting facility (called Aurora LNG) to pipe fracked gas from North Eastern B.C. and send it to China by tanker.

Aurora LNG is proposed to be built just 0.5km away from Dodge Cove and 3km away from Prince Rupert. International standards state that gas facilities should be at least 3.5km away from inhabited areas due to the threat of explosion and the long-term impacts on human health.

This proposal threatens our communities, our health, the environment, our safety, and our economy. If built, this project will set a new precedent for the proximity of other projects in B.C.

Impacts

Local

  • Negative impacts to the health of the residents of Dodge Cove and Prince Rupert
  • Pushes a community of people who have lived on Digby Island for over 100 years
  • Destroys the habitat of many plants and animals 

Regional

  • Negative impacts on local and sustainable industries
  • Increases fracking in North Eastern B.C.
  • Sets a new precedent for future industrial projects

Global

  • Increases CO2 levels in our atmosphere
  • Not being apart of the global need for a switch from fossil fuels

What’s happening now?

Aurora LNG is in the final stages of the Environmental Assessment period. Aurora LNG has not yet received its final certificate from the BC government; the environmental approval. It is not too late to stop this project.

Due to the complex nature of band councils and hereditary leadership, understanding First Nations support around Aurora LNG is difficult. Aurora LNG was directed (by the EAO) to consult with the Aboriginal Groups: Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla, Gitxaala, Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, and Gitga’at. Much of the consultation and any concerns those bands may have has not been made public.

Many bands have not even been included in the environmental assessment even though they should have been, as effects to the Skeena River estuary salmon, oolichan, and herring as well as other marine life, could have a broad range of impact. Specifically bands further up the Skeena River, Haida, and in the Fort Nelson area where the fracked gas will be coming from have not been included in consultation. Some of those ignored bands have entered letters of concern during the public comment period.