As British Columbia’s Coastal GasLink Pipeline project focuses on final cleanup and reclamation activities, the 670-kilometre liquefied natural gas (LNG) project has a new round of fines totalling $590,000 for non-compliance with its environmental assessment certificate.
Beginning in Dawson Creek and finishing in Kitimat, the pipeline may begin to deliver gas in 2025 with a focus on exports to Asian markets. But the company continues to face an escalation of penalties since the pipeline project began in 2019.
Site inspections have led to the province’s Environmental Assessment Office issuing 59 warnings, 30 orders — including 13 stop-work orders — and, with the latest penalties, approximately $1.3 million in fines.
The 10 new administrative penalties address deficiencies with erosion and sediment control measures identified by compliance and enforcement officers during multi-day inspections along the pipeline construction route in April and May 2023.
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
The latest environmental engineering news direct to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The company was also fined in May 2022 for the same erosion and sediment control deficiencies.
In a statement following the latest penalties, Calgary-based TC Energy announced that since fall 2023, its project has been fully and consistently compliant with the regulator’s demands for erosion and sediment control.
“At the height of construction in Spring 2023, over 500 people were dedicated to managing erosion and sediment control full time, including over 700 Erosion and Sediment Control-trained team members across the project,” company officials stated.
The pipeline was originally estimated to cost $6.2 billion, but TC Energy released an updated cost estimate of $14.5 billion in late 2023.
