TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline fined for environmental non-compliance

British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Office fined Coastal GasLink C$340,000 for deficient erosion and sediment control measures, and a C$6,000 penalty for providing “false and misleading” information relating to maintenance inspection records.

The deficiencies were identified during four multi-day inspections along the pipeline construction route in April and May 2022.

“The reporting error was due to an administrative contractor record discrepancy that was provided to the EAO between October 2022 and January 2023,” Coastal GasLink said in a statement. “This was an unintentional and regrettable error.”

Coastal GasLink will connect gas fields in northwestern British Columbia with the Shell-led LNG Canada project, which will be Canada’s first liquefied natural gas project when it starts operating in the middle of this decade.

The fines are the latest in a series of financial penalties paid by the troubled project, totalling more than C$800,000.

The 670-km (416-mile) pipeline, co-owned with private equity firm KKR and Alberta Investment Management Corp, has been dogged by delays and rising costs.

It is 94% finished and scheduled for mechanical completion late this year, Coastal GasLink said. It is expected to cost C$14.5 billion, more than double the initial estimate.