Fort St. John, British Columbia – Infrastructure Canada

The landfill gas management system at the North Peace Regional Landfill near Fort St. John officially started operation today. Construction of the system began in 2013 and the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) commissioned it for operation in December 2014, fulfilling requirements under the provincial Landfill Gas Management Regulation.

The BC Landfill Gas Management Regulation established province-wide criteria for landfill gas capture from municipal solid waste landfills. The main focus is the reduction of greenhouse gasses from landfills, as well as identifying opportunities to increase landfill gas recovery. The regulation requires that landfills with 100,000 tonnes or more of waste in place or with an annual waste acceptance rate exceeding 10,000 tonnes per year must be assessed to determine their landfill gas generation potential. If the assessment determines that a regulated landfill site generates 1,000 tonnes or more of methane, a gas management system must be designed and installed at the site. An assessment conducted for the North Peace Regional Landfill determined that such a system was required to be installed by the year 2021.

Options for utilizing the gas include power generation or transporting the gas to a natural gas utility by pipeline. The PRRD can also retain carbon credits to offset its corporate greenhouse gas emissions; any additional carbon credits can be sold to its member municipalities or on the open market for the same purpose. Revenue from selling these credits will offset the on-going expenses associated with operating the landfill gas system and reduce the level of taxation required to support it.

Quick facts

• The Government of Canada provides $253,276,892 in annual funding for municipal infrastructure in British Columbia through the federal Gas Tax Fund.
• The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) administers the federal Gas Tax Fund in BC, in collaboration with Canada and British Columbia.
• Since 2006, the federal Gas Tax Fund has made $6,676,948 available to Peace River Regional District through the Community Works Fund and has approved $980,000 through the Federal Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Fund.

Quotes

"We are pleased to work with the Province of British Columbia as we focus on creating jobs, promoting growth, and building strong, prosperous communities across Canada. This is why we are proud to have contributed $980,000 to this project through the federal Gas Tax Fund."

- Bob Zimmer
Member of Parliament for Prince George — Peace River

"The North Peace Regional Landfill has really been a win-win project for our community. It ultimately results in reducing greenhouse emissions which is helpful from an environmental perspective but the real bonus is the prospect of putting the gas to good use — whether it's generating power or actually piping it to a natural gas utility for economic gain. We thank our federal partners for their support of the project."

- Pat Pimm
MLA Peace River North

"The Gas Tax Fund contribution of $980,000 has enabled the Regional District to fulfill its regulatory commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the North Peace Regional landfill and has also created opportunities for gas utilization that will have economic, environmental, and social benefits for our residents."

- Lori Ackerman
Peace River Regional District Chair

"The federal Gas Tax Fund is supporting the efforts of B.C. communities to keep pace with the cost of new or increasing regulatory standards. I congratulate Peace River Regional District on the installation of this new landfill gas collection system well in advance of the assessment deadline."

- Sav Dhaliwal
UBCM President