Groups in Court to Challenge B.X. Energy Decision to Rush Start Construction on 900-km Pipeline.

A coalition of a First Nations band and local community groups, last week, headed to court to kick off a four-day hearing, challenging the B.C Energy Regulator’s decision to allow construction to start on a section of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline. The groups are arguing that a key permit condition was not met before the start of construction.

The Kispiox Band, Kispiox Valley Community Association, and Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition represent some of the frontline communities and interests that will be directly impacted by the pipeline. The pipeline’s proposed route would cut across northern B.C. to the West Coast, transporting fossil gas to be exported overseas as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“We’re reluctantly in court after trying to solve this directly with the B.C. Energy Regulator and relevant government Ministries,” said Shannon McPhail, Co-Executive Director at Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition. “It shouldn’t be left up to citizens to ensure our regulators are doing their jobs and upholding the law, but this is our home and we will defend.it.,”

“We are concerned no one is really listening,” adds Kathy Clay, President of the Kispiox Valley Community Centre Association (KVCCA). “We deserve to be actively included in the discussions and decisions that affect us. The concerns of the Kispiox Valley residents have not been acknowledged, much less addressed, by government or industry regulators.”

The groups, represented by Ecojustice lawyers, allege that the Regulator bypassed a legally required step of conducting a cumulative effects assessment of the project, which allowed the rushed start of construction on a section of the pipeline.

Kolin Sutherland Wilson, Chief Councillor of Kispiox Band said: “We’re in court because the decision to start building the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline was not only hasty but also skirted legal requirements. The Regulator ignored the broader impacts by using outdated information and only focusing on small sections of the project.”

“The B.C. Energy Regulator imposed this requirement on itself in 2022, in response to concerns from Indigenous communities that the cumulative effects of industrial development in northern B.C. were being overlooked. It was an important addition, so it’s concerning that the Regulator is now skirting its own rules.” Matt Hulse, staff lawyer at Ecojustice adds. “Unfortunately, it appears part of the Regulator’s long history of failing to regulate oil and gas companies at the expense of communities and the environment.”

We need a complete and up-to-date assessment that takes into account the true scale of potential harm to communities like Kispiox, located just 15 kilometers from the pipeline,” Kolin Sutherland Wilson added. “It’s crucial to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities against the very real threat of climate change.”

Original report by ecojustice.ca