Latest news with #TCEnergy
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Canadian regulator says Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline project has started
June 5 (Reuters) - British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office has determined that work on the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission natural gas pipeline project has been substantially started, the provincial government said on Thursday. The decision means a 2014 environmental assessment certificate for the project will remain in effect indefinitely, unless suspended or cancelled under the Environmental Assessment Act, the B.C. government said in a press release. The 900-kilometre PRGT project will run from Hudson's Hope in northeastern B.C. to Lelu Island near Prince Rupert on Canada's Pacific Coast. It was acquired from TC Energy ( opens new tab by the Nisga'a First Nation and the Western LNG in March 2024 to supply natural gas to the proposed 12 million tonneS per annum Ksi Lisims liquefied natural facility. The 2014 environmental assessment certificate required that the project show substantial progress by November 25, 2024. The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office launched a review process late last year to examine whether work had started, considering site inspections, documentation from PRGT and input from local First Nations. The government statement said compliance and enforcement officers will continue to monitor the PRGT project throughout construction and operation to ensure it meets all environmental requirements.
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘A long, hot summer': B.C.'s approval of PRGT pipeline sets stage for conflict, First Nations leader says
The British Columbia government gave a green light to an 800-kilometre natural gas pipeline on Thursday, paving the way for construction to start this summer — and setting the stage for what one First Nations leader warns could be a 'long, hot summer' of conflict. The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline will carry gas from northeast B.C. to the proposed Ksi Lisims gas liquefaction and export facility on the northwest coast near the Alaska border, crossing more than 1,000 waterways, including major salmon-bearing rivers and tributaries. In a press release, the BC Environmental Assessment Office gave the project a 'substantially started' designation, locking in its original environmental approval indefinitely. That original approval — for the pipeline to end in Prince Rupert, B.C — was granted in 2014 and expired last November. The assessment office said enough construction occurred before the expiry date to earn it the designation, even though the pipeline's new route takes it to a different location. The decision to deem the pipeline substantially started was authored by Alex MacLennan, chief executive assessment officer and deputy energy minister. In a report outlining the reasons for the decision, MacLennan acknowledged that First Nations, including the Gitxsan Wilps, raised a range of concerns about the project, including the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and uncertainty about the pipeline's final route. The assessment office is currently considering two requests from the proponents to change the pipeline's route to serve the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility. 'Though I recognize that this provides some uncertainty regarding the final route of the project, the significant investment in, and pursuit of, the amendments indicate to me that PRGT Ltd. continues to invest in the project and is committed to the project being completed,' MacLennan wrote. 'As for concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions, this matter is not relevant to the substantial start determination.' The Nisg̱a'a Lisims Government and Texas-based Western LNG are partnering to build the pipeline, after buying it from Calgary-based TC Energy last year. (TC Energy is the company behind the contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline , which saw protracted conflict during construction that led to more than 80 arrests of land defenders, observers and journalists.) While the Nisg̱a'a government has stated the project provides much-needed economic benefits to its citizens, other affected First Nations, including leaders in neighbouring Gitanyow and Gitxsan territories, have voiced their opposition and argue the PRGT pipeline will negatively impact lands and waters and populations of fish and wildlife. In a statement, Simooget (Chief) Watakhayetsxw Deborah Good said the decision 'isn't the end of the story.' Watakhayetsxw was one of the Gitanyow Chiefs who set up a blockade last August when pipeline construction started, barring any industry-related traffic from passing through. 'We'll continue to fight to protect our territory (Lax'yip) with all actions needed, in the courts and on the ground,' she said. 'From August to November 2024, we denied access for PRGT pipeline construction and we'll be continuing our efforts to ensure no construction happens on our territory,' she said. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said approving the pipeline directly contradicts the government's stated commitment to upholding Indigenous Rights, which was passed into law in 2019 with B.C.'s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. 'There are First Nations who have very loudly stated their opposition to this pipeline and they will continue to do so,' Phillip said in a statement. 'The Declaration Act and interim approach are being tossed out the window. This is not a government who believes in reconciliation and it could trigger a long, hot summer.' Naxginkw Tara Marsden, Wilp Sustainability Director with the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, questioned whether the project met criteria for the substantial start decision. While the definition of a substantial start is somewhat vague, the essence of the designation is an acknowledgement a project proponent has put in a significant amount of work to get a project going. The work done on the PRGT pipeline mainly consisted of clearing forest from a short section of the 800-kilometre route on Nisga'a lands. 'This decision makes a mockery of the true purpose and intent of what is considered to be a 'substantial start' for major infrastructure projects,' Naxginkw said in a statement. 'It leaves us asking, 'Why does the government have processes if it doesn't intend to follow them and continues to exclude concerns raised by impacted First Nations?' ' The pipeline and associated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, Ksi Lisims LNG, are the subject of three lawsuits by Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and groups, including a legal challenge launched by Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs. 'Our livelihoods depend on healthy and abundant sockeye from the Nass and Skeena rivers,' Naxginkw said. 'This pipeline would cut across some of the healthiest intact salmon watersheds left in B.C.' Naxginkw previously told The Narwhal the conflict over the pipeline is pitting nation against nation, which she said is a distraction from the real issue. 'We're stuck in this cycle of people only paying attention when it's that really heated, race-based conflict and the fact that this is nation to nation is even juicier,' she explained. 'But that's not the story — the story is the climate is going to kill us all.' Natural gas is mostly composed of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide for its short-term warming impact on the planet. At every step of the process of extracting the fossil fuel for energy production — including at wellheads, along the pipeline and during the liquefaction, shipping, regasification and combustion processes — adds more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, intensifying the effects of climate change. When built, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline will be able to transport 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CTV News
3 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Calgary Zoo gets funding to support woodland caribou through lichen harvesting
Lichen (right) is one of the main foods consumed by the woodland caribou. (Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo) The Calgary Zoo/Wilder Institute has announced a $285,000 investment from TC Energy to help boost the organization's Lichen Harvesting Program, which helps feed their woodland caribou. Lichen is one of the main foods consumed by the animal. 'In the wild, it can make up as much as 85 per cent of a woodland caribou's winter diet,' explained Larisa Jancewicz, supervisor of animal nutrition. 'Supplementing our zoo caribou with lichen not only provides nutritional benefits, but also encourages natural feeding behaviour'. Jancewicz says lichen is 'incredibly slow-growing and sensitive.' As such, the zoo works with communities and school groups in Alberta and British Columbia to ethically harvest the nutritional powerhouse. Thursday's investment from TC Energy will see the zoo receive the money over three years, including annual funding of $85,000. 'We are proud to support caribou conservation efforts that will not only protect this important species and advance long-term environmental resilience but educate and inspire the next generation,' said Sharon Tomkins, vice president, chief sustainability officer at TC Energy. The announcement comes the day before World Caribou Day, which aims to raise awareness about at-risk caribou populations and the urgent need to protect their habitats. Woodland caribou are listed globally as 'vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List, and Alberta's woodland caribou are considered threatened under Canada's Species at Risk Act due to habitat loss, climate change, and deforestation.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 years later, Walsh County officials see no long-term impacts to site of Keystone Pipeline oil spill
May 28—EDINBURG, N.D. — It's been a few months past five years since a spill from the Keystone Pipeline in Walsh County washed about 5 acres of wetlands in around 383,000 gallons of crude oil. The main thing two county leaders remember about the incident was not the spill itself, but the work put in to correct the damage. Denny Skorheim, a Walsh County commissioner who was on the commission at the time of the spill, said the cleanup and how it was handled were flawless. "I did a follow-up a year, a couple years after, and at that time, I said, 'they could run a pipeline across my land any time they wanted,' because I have absolute faith in the way they handled that whole operation," he said. The spill occurred on Oct. 29, 2019, when a rupture occurred in the pipeline that spilled the crude oil into wetlands outside Edinburg. It is one of the largest crude oil spills in North Dakota history. Recently, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration released an investigation report for the incident that said the root issue behind the spill could partially have been "ineffective quality control" and inadequate inspections at the Berg Steel Mill in Panama City, Florida, the producer of the damaged piece of pipeline. In 2020, TC Energy, the Canadian company that operated the pipeline at the time, paid a fine of about $52,000 to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality for the spill. The cost was made up of an administrative penalty and an environmental emergency cost recovery fee. TC Energy turned its oil pipeline business into a new company called South Bow Energy last year, and the pipeline is active under the new operators. Skorheim said TC Energy met with the county commission and went through the whole cleanup process, and the commission turned it all over to TC Energy. To Skorheim's knowledge, there haven't been any complaints about the land affected and there has been no lasting impact from the spill. "There was not one thing I could fault them for on anything," he said. "Obviously, the break happened, but as far as the response and cleanup and their handling and managing of the whole operation. ... It was just flawless. Nothing but good to say about the way they handled it." Walsh County Sheriff Ron Jurgens remembered how his office helped keep people away from the affected area and controlled traffic while TC Energy went to work reclaiming the area. He remembered the smell of the oil in the ground, but the main thing he took away from the incident was how the company went about cleaning up the mess. "They hauled out all the old, oil-soaked ground and reclaimed it and remade it," he said. "It's really much better than it was before."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Five years later, Walsh County officials see no long-term impacts to site of Keystone Pipeline oil spill
May 28—EDINBURG, N.D. — It's been a few months past five years since a spill from the Keystone Pipeline in Walsh County washed about five acres of wetlands in around 383,000 gallons of crude oil. The main thing two county leaders remember about the incident was not the spill itself, but the work put in to correct the damage. Denny Skorheim, a Walsh County commissioner who was on the commission at the time of the spill, said the cleanup and how it was handled was flawless. "I did a follow-up a year, a couple years after and at that time I said, 'they could run a pipeline across my land any time they wanted,' because I have absolute faith in the way they handled that whole operation," he said. The spill occurred on Oct. 29, 2019, when a rupture occurred in the pipeline that spilled the crude oil into wetlands outside Edinburg. It is one of the largest crude oil spills in North Dakota history. Recently, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration released an investigation report for the incident that said the root issue behind the spill could partially have been "ineffective quality control" and inadequate inspections at the Berg Steel Mill in Panama City, Florida, the producer of the damaged piece of pipeline. In 2020, TC Energy, the Canadian company that operated the pipeline at the time, paid a fine of about $52,000 to the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality for the spill. The cost was made up of an administrative penalty and environmental emergency cost recovery fee. TC Energy turned its oil pipeline business into a new company called South Bow Energy last year, and the pipeline is active under the new operators. Skorheim said TC Energy met with the county commission and went through the whole cleanup process, and the commission turned it all over to TC Energy. To Skorheim's knowledge, there haven't been any complaints about the land affected and there has been no lasting impact from the spill. "There was not one thing I could fault them for on anything," he said. "Obviously the break happened, but as far as the response and cleanup and their handling and managing of the whole operation. ... It was just flawless. Nothing but good to say about the way they handled it." Walsh County Sheriff Ron Jurgens remembered how his office helped keep people away from the affected area and controlled traffic while TC Energy went to work reclaiming the area. He remembered the smell of the oil in the ground, but the main thing he took away from the incident was how the company went about cleaning up the mess. "They hauled out all the old, oil soaked ground and reclaimed it and remade it," he said. "It's really much better than it was before."
