Natural Resources Canada is no longer involved in a proposal to build a biofuel facility on Semiahmoo First Nation land in South Surrey.
But the reason for the withdrawal, along with exactly what it means for the proposal moving forward, remains unclear.
“At this time, I have no idea,” SFN Chief Harley Chappell said Tuesday (March 5), describing the unexpected news as “troubling.”
“We don’t have the answers, so I don’t have the information on how we move forward.”
The agency’s move, effective Feb. 16 and shared last Thursday (Feb. 29) in an update posted to the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry website, means $14.4 million in federal funding that was announced last summer is no longer on the table.
“Thus, NRCan no longer has a role in the assessment of environmental effects of the project under s.82 of the Impact Assessment Act,” the update states.
The project – an “anaerobic digestion facility” – was made public in June 2023, with news of NRCan’s funding support.
READ MORE: $14 million announced for Semiahmoo First Nation renewable natural gas facility
At the time, it was a partnership of SFN and Andion Global Inc., proposed for four acres of SFN land adjacent to Highway 99, approximately one kilometre north of the Canada-U.S. border and 40 metres back from the highway itself.
Andion has since become Taurus RNG, an entity company officials in December said was simply the sale of an 80 per cent interest in its North American subsidiary to a team of its executive management, resulting in a “healthy, debt-free, stand-alone business.”
“We stand 100 per cent behind, and will continue to develop all of our projects including the Semiahmoo RNG project,” the company’s marketing head, Ashley Brookes, told Peace Arch News in December.
READ MORE: Questions raised in South Surrey by Andion corporate changes
The proposed facility has been a source of angst among area residents from the get-go. Efforts to quash it have included a petition and a rally. Concerns include the potential impact of pollution, traffic and noise.
Opponents earlier this year questioned the impact of the corporate changes.
South Surrey-White Rock MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay noted in a March 2 statement that “Taurus (Andion) can apply for funding in the future but would have to re-start the process.”
Chappell said the original funding was secured “because of the partnership with the nation.”
He said he planned to discuss the matter with band council members on Wednesday (March 6), and with the larger SFN community next week.
Members of the Clean Air Alliance have said they are “elated” by the funding decision, but they are not yet waving a victory flag.
NRCan was one of three government funding sources, spokesperson Suzanne Smith explained Monday (March 4); two remain, as well as private funding.
“It’s the wonderful outcome that we wanted… but we have tempered enthusiasm because there are still other agencies involved,” and because the project came together “in secret,” Smith told PAN, referring to news last fall that discussions had been underway for around four years before it became public.
At the same time, “it was exciting that our voice finally was heard.”
Alliance members are hopeful the federal-funding update will prompt other funding partners to also reconsider.
Smith encouraged those with concerns to continue reaching out to Metro Vancouver and Indigenous Services Canada.
The alliance is also planning to host a townhall meeting in early spring, the details of which have not yet been finalized.
In a response emailed to PAN Wednesday (March 6) afternoon, a NRCan spokesperson said the agency, for confidentiality reasons, “is not able to comment on specific project applications and contract negotiations.”