LNG Canada said increased flaring at its Kitimat facility has had a “small to negligible” impact on local air quality, according to the results of a flaring assessment.
Representatives from LNG Canada and consulting firm Stantec appeared before Kitimat city council Monday night to outline findings from the latest assessment, which examined whether increased flaring linked to operational issues at the LNG Canada site affected air quality in the community.
The analysis was conducted at the request of the B.C. Energy Regulator, which asked LNG Canada to evaluate emissions associated with increased flaring from the facility’s warm-wet flare while the company addresses a flare integrity issue.
The regulator asked LNG Canada to update its air modelling for nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide and review air monitoring data in Kitimat to determine whether flaring was affecting air quality.
Stantec air quality specialist April Hauk told council the modelling and monitoring review found no significant change in air quality linked to the increased flaring.
“Based on dispersion modeling and a detailed review of the ambient data. The effect of the increased flare rate on air quality is small to negligible,” Hauk said.
The modelling assessed two possible flaring scenarios involving flow rates of 140 tonnes and 170 tonnes of gas per day.
Under those scenarios, LNG Canada’s nitrogen oxide emissions would increase between 4.4 and 5.4 per cent, while sulphur dioxide emissions would increase between 0.3 and 0.4 per cent.
Despite those increases, predicted pollutant concentrations remained below B.C.’s ambient air-quality objectives.
For nitrogen dioxide, the model predicted a maximum one-hour concentration of 103.3 micrograms per cubic metre, compared with the provincial air quality objective of 113 micrograms per cubic metre. Annual predicted concentrations were 8.1 micrograms per cubic metre, well below the provincial objective of 32 micrograms per cubic metre.
The modelling also found that predicted increases in sulphur dioxide concentrations were negligible compared with those submitted in the original modelling for LNG Canada’s waste discharge authorization process.
The assessment also included a review of real-world air monitoring data collected at three stations specified under LNG Canada’s permit: Haisla Village, Riverlodge, and Whitesail.
The data review period spanned the months of September 2024 to August 2025, which coincides with the commissioning and early operation phase of the facility.
The results of the monitoring indicated that the concentrations of the pollutants at the three stations were well below the provincial objectives for air quality.
At Riverlodge, which had the highest concentrations of the three stations, the maximum one-hour concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were 19.3 micrograms per cubic meter, which is much lower than the objective of 113 micrograms per cubic meter.
For sulphur dioxide, the maximum one-hour concentrations recorded during the monitoring period were 54.4 micrograms per cubic meter, compared to the objective of 183 micrograms per cubic meter.
The concentrations of the particulate matter were also below the objectives. The maximum 24-hour concentrations of PM2.5 recorded during the monitoring period were 9.4 micrograms per cubic meter, compared to the objective of 27 micrograms per cubic meter.
The assessment also compared air monitoring data collected during LNG Canada’s early operations in 2025 with historical monitoring records from 2021 to 2024, before the facility began operating.
According to the analysis, air quality measurements during the early operations period were within normal year-to-year variation and showed no discernible change linked to the start of LNG Canada operations or increased flaring.
“There’s no unusual or elevated concentrations identified, associated with the flaring or early operations at these monitoring stations,” Hauk said.
Because both modelling results and monitoring data showed no material change in air quality, the assessment concluded that no changes are required to LNG Canada’s Air Quality Detailed Monitoring Plan.
