Regulator calls out Trans Mountain for ‘environmental non-compliance’ in B.C.

CALGARY – The company building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been cited for environmental non-compliance related to its management of recent flooding in B.C.

The Canada Energy Regulator said Thursday its inspection officers found issues near Abbotsford, B.C., where Trans Mountain Corp. has been working on the final stretch of the multi-year oil pipeline project.

The regulator said the Crown corporation was not properly maintaining a watercourse isolation, wildlife fencing, soil coverings and dewatering pump and sump locations following recent heavy rain.

The regulator has ordered Trans Mountain Corp. to address the environmental deficiencies, develop a water management plan and investigate and report on its environmental failings in the area.

The Trans Mountain pipeline is Canada’s only oil pipeline to the West Coast and its expansion will increase the pipeline’s capacity to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000 bpd currently.

Construction is more than 98 per cent complete, but Trans Mountain Corp. has been racing against the clock as it deals with a variety of difficulties related to hard rock and challenging terrain.

Feature image: Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. The company building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been cited for environmental non-compliance related to its management of recent flooding in B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck