Coastal Gas Link, the newly completed 670-km pipeline that will carry natural gas from northern British Columbia to Canada's first giant coastal gas export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., that is set to start commercial operation next year, has been fined more than $1 million for failing to control erosion during construction and non-compliance with preventative agreements, province regulators said.

British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office issued 10 administrative penalties on Sept. 11 totaling nearly $435,000 against the pipeline, owned by Calgary, Alberta-based TC Energy and investors. It will provide gas to the first $14-billion phase of the LNG Canada terminal, owned by a Shell-led consortium and now about 95% complete, with Fluor Corp. as its primary construction contractor.

“Recurring issues during pipeline construction led to escalating enforcement actions,” the regulators said in a statement. The pipeline previously received five environmental fines totaling $600,000.

The fines stem from infractions first documented in spring 2023, which followed media reports of snowmelt causing significant erosion and sediment control issues along the pipeline construction route.

“As soon as these issues were identified, we took immediate and decisive action to correct them,” TC Energy said in a statement. “Since fall 2023, Coastal GasLink has been fully and consistently compliant with [requirements]."

Getting Ready for Export

The gas line has begun delivering supply to the LNG Canada facility, which has said would start shipping liquefied gas to the Kitimat terminal by mid-2025. It also is set to send gas to the estimated $4-billion Cedar LNG site, a Haisla Nation-led export project with Pembina Pipeline Corp. located nearby that made its final investment decision this summer and now is under construction by Black & Veatch and Samsung Heavy industries. Set to operate in late 2028, it would be a floating LNG facility with projected capacity of about 2.3 million metric tons per year. 

Construction of LNG Canada's first production train was finished in July, involving a natural gas receiving and LNG production unit and a marine terminal able to handle two LNG carriers, a tugboat dock and LNG loading lines. The terminal complex also will contain LNG processing units, storage tanks, rail yard, water treatment facility and flare stacks.

LNG Canada has not yet announced a final investment decision to build a second phase of two more trains, saying it "continues to work toward conditions needed for its five joint venture participants to reach" that point, particularly costs related to whether it would use fossil fuel or electricity to power the second facility, and status of utility BC Hydro transmission infrastructure to accommodate supply of potential hydropower.