Employer received 10 administrative penalties
British Columbia employer Coastal GasLink (CGL) has been fined $590,000 for deficiencies related to erosion and sediment control measures.
CGL, which is owned by Calgary-based TC Energy Corp, received 10 administrative penalties, the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) announced on Wednesday.
CGL is a 670-kilometre-long pipeline project spanning northern B.C. that will carry natural gas across the province to the LNG Canada processing and export facility in Kitimat, noted CBC in its report.
The penalties came after inspections along the pipeline construction route in April and May 2023.
“We respect the role our regulators have in upholding the high regulatory standards that we are committed to meeting,” said CGL in a statement.
“As soon as these issues were identified, we took immediate and decisive action to correct them. Since Fall 2023, Coastal GasLink has been fully and consistently compliant with the EAO on erosion and sediment control. At the height of construction in Spring 2023, over 500 people were dedicated to managing erosion and sediment control full time, including over 700 Erosion and Sediment Control-trained team members across the project.”
The employer has faced previous penalties. CGL received four penalties between February 2022 and September 2023 totalling nearly $800,000, according to CBC.
The company also faced a $6,000 penalty last September for providing false or misleading information.
"These latest financial penalties reflect the EAO's escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance with EAO requirements," said the EAO.
