MACKENZIE — Enbridge’s Sunrise Expansion Program for the Westcoast natural gas pipeline will bring up to 850 workers to two locations near Mackenzie, the board of directors for the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George heard at its Thursday, June 19 meeting.
Community and Indigenous relations advisor Jennifer Prochera and project co-ordinator Seanna McDonald made the trip up to the Mackenzie Recreation Centre to present information on the proposed expansion to the board.
The approximately 2,900-kilometre pipeline runs all the way from Fort Nelson near the border with Yukon Territory to the Sumas border crossing with Washington state, with branches that extend to Fort St. John and across the border into Alberta.
In May, it was announced that 36 First Nations including Lheidli T'enneh First Nation and McLeod Lake Indian Band were partnering to buy a $750 million minority stake in this pipeline.
It was first built in 1957 by what was then known as the Westcoast Transmission Company. It was sold to Duke Energy in 2002, which eventually spun off its natural gas business into Spectra Energy, which then merged with Enbridge in 2017.
The expansion, Prochera explained, is proposed for what’s called the “T-South” branch of the pipeline that runs from the Pine Pass near Powder King Mountain Resort and Azouzetta Lake southwards to the U.S. border.
“Right now, there’s a 30- and 36-inch pipeline in the ground,” Prochera said. “We’re looking to do additional looping of 42-inch diameter pipeline … this involves us putting in compressor stations and then 139 kilometres of pipeline looping. That’s over 11 segments all the way from up in Azouzetta by Powder King all the way down to the Huntington-Sumas border.”
Enbridge’s website says that pipeline loops are additional segments that are installed parallel to existing systems to add additional capacity.
“But it’s also a safety measure,” Prochera said. “If we need to do integrity work, maintenance work, we need to shut down a portion of the pipeline, that means BC is still receiving gas.”
With the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, five sections of pipeline looping are proposed:
- An 18.1-kilometre pipeline loop from a compressor station at McLeod Lake to Trapper Creek Road
- A 13.5-kilometre pipeline loop from south of McLeod Lake to north of Summit Lake
- A new natural gas compressor unit northeast of Mackenzie
- A 19.9-kilometre pipeline loop near Summit Lake to north of Salmon Valley
- A 5.1-kilometre pipeline loop running north of Woodpecker to a compressor station
- A 20.8-kilometre pipeline loop from a compressor station to south of Hixon
On top of the looping, a new natural gas-powered compressor station is proposed for installation near Azouzetta Lake.
Three more electrified compressors are being proposed for installation at existing sites at 93 Mile House, Kingsvale and Othello. To accommodate that, 10 kilometres of new overhead power lines will need to be built.
To accommodate workers for the construction, two accommodation sites are proposed: one near Mackenzie housing up to 700 workers and one near Powder King housing up to 150 workers.
Prochera said McDonald will serve as a liaison between Enbridge and the District of Mackenzie for the temporary accommodation sites to make sure the chosen location and the construction doesn’t disrupt the community.
As part of the Canada Energy Regulation process, Prochera said Enbridge will need to completed in socioeconomic effects management plan as well. Another plan, she said, is being developed in Hixon.
“We talk a lot of transient workers in communities … accommodations, traffic, jobs, training, we’re still working through that process and then we’re develop this into this management plan,” Prochera said.
The temporary sites are needed in the Mackenzie area because there aren’t a lot of existing accommodations. However, for the rest of the project locations, workers will be staying at accommodations within communities.
There are also expansions for the T-North part of the pipeline, but those are different projects.
After the presentation, Vice-chair Art Kaehn (Woodpecker-Hixon) said that the construction timeline will line up with the wind power project near Hixon being pursued by Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and Spanish firm Ecoener. He asked whether Enbridge had been in touch about sharing resources
Prochera said that conversation has been had in other communities where mine expansion is taking place, but not yet with the Hixon wind project.
She said beyond the need for accommodations, a shared need for skilled workers among multiple projects is another challenge and that’s why engaging with the affected communities is important to understand the potential overlap.
Director Owen Torgerson (Village of McBride) said that based on previous experience, he recommended that medical needs like prescriptions are considered in the planning phases so that local health care facilities and staff aren’t inundated during construction.
He also said that a tight-knit code of conduct for workers is needed to emphasize to workers that they are guests in the communities they’re near and asked where the power for the electrical compressor stations are coming from.
From what she understands, Prochera said there aren’t any concerns about accessing the needed power and that if they’re needed, the compressor stations will still be able to be powered by natural gas.
Work on the Sunrise project started back in 2022 and an application was submitted to the Canada Energy Regulator on May 30, 2024. The application was deemed complete last fall, which kicked off a 450-day review process.
The company hopes that the regulator will give the product a certificate in the second quarter of 2026 and the new components will come online at the end of 2028.
