Coastal Gas Link, the newly completed 670 kilometer pipeline that will bring natural gas from northern British Columbia to Canada’s first giant coastal gas export terminal in Kitimat, BC, which will begin commercial operations in coming, has been fined more than $1 million for failing to control erosion during construction and breaching preventative agreements, provincial regulators said.
British Columbia’s Office of Environmental Assessment issued 10 administrative penalties on Sept. 11 totaling nearly $435,000 against the pipeline, which is owned by Calgary, Alberta-based TC Energy and investors. It will provide gas to the $14 billion first phase of Canada’s LNG terminal, owned by a consortium led by Shell and now about 95 percent with Fluor Corp. as the main construction contractor.
“Recurring problems during the construction of the pipeline led to an escalation of enforcement measures,” regulators said in a statement. The pipeline previously received five environmental fines totaling $600,000.
The fines stem from violations first documented in the spring of 2023, which followed media reports of snowmelt causing significant erosion and sediment control problems along the construction route of the pipeline
“As soon as these issues were identified, we took immediate and decisive action to correct them,” TC Energy said in a statement. “Since the fall of 2023, Coastal GasLink has been fully and consistently [requirements].”
The gas line has begun supplying the Canada LNG facility, which has said it would begin sending liquefied gas to the Kitimat terminal in mid-2025. It is also scheduled to send gas to the estimated 4 billion dollars from Cedar LNG, a nearby Haisla Nation-led export project that made its final investment decision this summer and is now under construction.
LNG Canada has not yet announced a final investment decision to build a second phase, saying it “continues to work to achieve the necessary conditions for its five joint venture participants to reach” that point, particularly the costs of whether to use fossil fuels or electricity to feed. the second installation.
