Coastal GasLink has been issued stop work orders on a stretch of pipeline construction for the second time in just over a week, the latest in a pattern of environmental violations for polluting sensitive waterways. The pipeline project crosses about 625 lakes, rivers, creeks, wetlands, and streams in northern B.C. On Tuesday, the BC Environmental Assessment Office Compliance and Enforcement Branch said it had issued four stop work orders to Coastal GasLink late last week because erosion and sediment were negatively impacting the upper Anzac River watershed, about 130 kilometres northeast of Prince George.
Pipeline company ordered to stop work near Prince George for polluting fish-bearing stream
The B.C. government has ordered Coastal GasLink to stop work on a section of pipeline near Prince George after officials found sediment-laden water being "pumped into an area that ran into tributaries of the Anzac River." In an email to CBC News, B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office said there were "negative impacts" to a fish-bearing stream, a matter it takes "very seriously."
Coastal GasLink warned more than 50 times over environmental violations during pipeline construction
Coastal GasLink has now been warned more than 50 times about environmental violations during construction of its natural gas pipeline across northern British Columbia, according to the province. In an email to CBC News, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said it had issued a total of 51 warnings, 16 orders, and levied two fines — penalties of more than $240,000 "for repeated non-compliance" — since construction on the pipeline started in 2019.