Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Assessing the risks related to the project
application, concluding that there was a lack of information and facts substantiating
the existence of a credible threat 1 .
♦ Finding — The Panel notes that no liquefied natural gas land facilities or LNG tanker
have been the subject of terrorist attacks in close to 50 years, even in countries where
such facilities are found and which have recently suffered large-scale terrorist attacks.
♦ Opinion 12 — The Panel is of the opinion that the structural characteristics of
liquefied natural gas land facilities and LNG tankers, as well as their inherent security
measures, make them little vulnerable as targets for terrorist groups, and less likely to
offer the consequences usually sought in terms of damages, visibility and sociopolitical
impacts.
Emergency measures planning
In spite of adequate overall risk management, there will always be a residual risk, and
a chance event could occur, requiring an immediate and adequate intervention. To
this end, the emergency measures plan anticipates interventions to be implemented
during emergency situations, such as a dangerous substance spill, an explosion, a
fire, a natural disaster, etc. (CRAIM, 2007).
Moreover, the Panel noted that the proponent submitted a preliminary emergency
measures plan to the City of Lévis. This plan is currently being analyzed by the
Service de sécurité d’incendie for its subsequent approval by the City council
(DB114).
Besides, the proponent specified that each LNG tanker would have, among others, an
emergency measures plan and a specific plan against pollution from hydrocarbons.
These elements would be submitted for a yearly review and to inspections. In this
respect, the Canadian Coast Guard specified that ships must report any event, as well
as any incident or accident regarding marine traffic occurring in Canada. This process
was presumed to be under review, jointly with the ministère de la Sécurité publique, to
disseminate this type of information on the municipal level, or even to encourage its
activation, if necessary (Mr. Martin Blouin, DT11, p. 72).
♦ Finding – The Panel noted that the proponent submitted a preliminary emergency
measures plan to the City of Lévis.
1. Mark Clayton, “LNG: A Prized Energy Source, or Potent Terror Target? Push to build LNG terminals is under
fire”, The Christian Science Monitor, April 6, 2004; Gemma Aymonne Heddle, Sociopolitical Challenges to the Siting of
Facilities with Perceived Environmental Risks, M.Sc Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, June 2003 [On-line:
http://sequestration.mit.edu/pdf/heddle_thesis.pdf].
168 Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure