Yukon Energy’s plan to burn liquefied natural gas in Whitehorse has hit a minor snag.
The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board has halted its review until Yukon Energy produces a proposal that reflects its updated plans for the project.
Originally, the plan would have had the facilities spill onto land near the Whitehorse Dam owned by the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway. A section of the tracks would have had to be removed.
But Yukon Energy couldn’t reach a deal with White Pass.
“It was taking so long to get an actual agreement that we had to say, ‘OK, we’ve got to move forward, we can’t wait any longer for this,’” said Janet Patterson, spokesperson for Yukon Energy.
Now Yukon Energy says it can rework the plans so that the facilities fit on 0.9 hectares of Crown land that it intends to purchase.
A small piece of White Pass land will still be needed, but only for vehicle access and utility crossing.
Talks are still in the works to secure access to that land, said Patterson.
Yukon Energy submitted amendments to its proposal to YESAB this week.
But the board wants to see a fully updated project proposal before it continues the review process, according to a letter sent to Yukon Energy.
“The table of concordance you provided is not only very difficult to navigate; it is also inaccurate in a number of places,” the letter states.
“These inaccuracies result in an incomplete proposal and will likely lead to confusion and misunderstandings on the part of the public and interested persons.”
YESAB sent the proposal, which had been open to public comment, back to the adequacy review stage.
Once Yukon Energy submits the updated proposal and the board finds it adequate, the period for public review will start over again.
White Pass could not immediately be reached for comment.
(Jacqueline Ronson)