Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Assessing the risks related to the project
on an assessment of risks and vulnerability as defined in articles 317 and 321 of
these regulations.
♦ Finding — The Panel notes that the proponent submitted a preliminary safety plan
with Transport Canada, and that its contents was deemed in compliance with the
regulations in force.
The threat of a terrorist attack
The concerns regarding the vulnerability of LNG facilities to possible intentional acts
of sabotage do not represent a new phenomenon. Such concerns date back to the
mid-1970s, a period during which the first LNG terminal projects were built in the
United States 1 .
In the political and security climate that arose in the wake of September 11, 2001, the
possibility of other attacks targeting industrial facilities which could release large
quantities of energy or toxic substances close to urban centres became a cause for
great concern in the United States. It was after these attacks that U.S. authorities
required exceptional Coast Guard escort measures for the LNG tankers sailing in the
port of Boston, and to the LNG terminal of Distrigas at Everett, in Massachusetts
(Mr. John F. Hanlon, DT29.1, p. 8).
Since then, LNG facilities have been the subject of many analyses and studies from
government authorities, research centres and large insurance companies. One of
these studies 2 concluded that full containment tanks, like those planned for this
project, were unattractive targets considering the methods often used in terrorist
attacks (explosive charges, missiles, plane crashes) and given the difficulty of
undermining the structural integrity of these tanks. The study recommended not to
build such facilities close to large urban centres whenever possible, and also
recommended separating, when possible, the maritime facilities from the tank area,
as the latter were deemed to be relatively more vulnerable.
A report from the United States Congressional Research Service underscored the fact
that no LNG facility has been a target of a terrorist attack up to now. However, the
report noted that pipelines and oil facilities have already been the targets of these
types of attacks throughout the world 3 . Quoting the Federal Energy Regulatory
1. Peter van der Linde and Naomi A. Hintze, Time Bomb. LNG: The Truth about our Newest and Most Dangerous
Energy Source , Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, January 1978.
2. C. Southwell, An Analysis of the Risks of a Terrorist Attack on LNG Receiving Facilities in the United States,
University of Southern California, November 9, 2005 [On-line: www.usc.edu/dept/create/assets/001/50799.pdf].
3. Paul W. Parfomak and John Frittelli, Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities, CRS
Report for Congress, January 9, 2007.
166 Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure