BC Says "Yasss" to LNG Pipeline, No New Eco Check Needed ⛽️

The Deets

Okay, so boom. The British Columbia government is moving forward with the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline. This thing is HUGE, like 900 kilometers long, and was originally supposed to ship natural gas from the northeast to Lelu Island. But the Lelu Island LNG plant got canceled.

Fast forward to now, the Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG bought the pipeline to fuel the Ksi Lisims LNG joint. The province is tweaking the route, too, moving the endpoint to Ksi Lisims and changing up the eastern part. But here's the tea: because some construction happened last summer, the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) said the project had "substantially started". This means the project met the 10-year deadline from the original approval in 2014, so no need for a whole new assessment. Shady, right?

But hold up, not everyone is vibing with this. The BC Green Party is big mad, saying it's a major L for the environment, Indigenous peeps, and some random foreign fossil fuel companies. Groups like the Lax Kw'alaams Band, Ts'msyen hereditary chiefs, and Gitanyow hereditary chiefs are also throwing shade. They're not feeling it, and honestly, who can blame them? Key players in this saga include the Nisga'a Nation (with Eva Clayton), Western LNG, the big US firm Blackstone, and Bechtel, the construction company.

Basically, the EAO checked everything up until November 25, 2024, to make sure construction had started before the 10-year deadline. And because they did a lil' bit of work, they're good to go. This whole thing is a mess, and it's def got some ppl pressed.