Modernization project is an environmental go
By Malcolm Baxter – Kitimat Northern Sentinel – January 16, 2008
Two down, one to go.
Rio Tinto-Alcan have finally got the environmental go-ahead for the proposed Kitimat smelter modernization.
And that means two of the three conditions the company said it needed to be met before seeking board approval for the project are now in place.
The others were a contract extension with the union – agreed to last Spring – and BC Utilities Commission approval of a new Electricity Purchase Agreement with BC Hydro.
BCUC is expected to bring down that decision towards the end of this month.
RTA managing director of BC operations Paul Henning conceded the environmental issue had taken a long time to be settled, but emphasized it was not because there were any problems, simply that a lot of work was required to cover all the bases.
Henning recalled that as early as November of 2006 the provincial Environment ministry had said the project did not have to go through the full review process because the new plant would be “significantly less polluting” than the existing one.
The next step was to get approval from federal Fisheries and that required going through a similar process to show that modernization would not impact the Nechako Reservoir, Kemano River or any of the water courses around the smelter – Anderson and Moore Creeks, for example.
But Fisheries threw the company a curve.
Henning explained that RTA had expected to have to go through a review every time any part of the modernization work went into an area where there was a water course.
However, Fisheries had pointed out that would be time consuming and suggested that instead they pursue “an over arching letter of advice”.
Henning said that translated to doing a study that covered all aspects of the project up front with a review only being necessary “if we got a surprise”.
That letter of advice was signed off last October.
However, that still left the question of Kitimat Works staying within the limits of its emissions permit.
While emissions from the new smelter would be down by as much as 500,000 tonnes, he explained there would likely be blips during the construction stage.
For example, if Lines 7 and 8 was taken down to create space for the new plant, that would throw overall emissions out of whack.
That’s because the smelter’s permit specifies limits per tonne of metal produced – for example, the fluoride limit is 1.9 pounds per tonne.
And Lines 1 and 2 are the oldest and have higher emissions than 7 and 8.
The ministry and the company have now agreed to a permit that will run through to the point where the new plant is up, running and stabilized.
“The ministry of Environment have really gone in with a pro-active view to really help us secure this project,” Henning said.
That said, he emphasized, “I don’t want an excuse, I don’t want freeboard in the permit that I don’t need.”
There is one area where emissions will go up with the modernized plant, Henning pointed out.
That’s sulphur dioxide because of the increased output of the new smelter and the deteriorating quality of the coke it must use in the manufacturing process.
However, even with that increase S02 emissions will still be below the threshold of provincial regulations and is taken into account in calculating a 45 per cent reduction in total emissions.
“It’s a little change in sulphur for a big change in everything else,” he noted.
Henning confirmed the target remains to take the project to the board for approval in late March or early April.
Kitimat Northern Sentinel
