Representatives from energy company Enbridge and mining company CTI Plus Resources are scheduled to give presentations to the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George’s board of directors at their next meeting on Thursday, June 19.
Enbridge community and Indigenous relations advisor Jennifer Prochera will give an update on a proposed expansion to the company’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline while CTI Plus’s manager of regulatory affairs and engagement will discuss a proposed metallurgical coal project roughly halfway between Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge.
The Westcoast pipeline runs from Fort Nelson near the Yukon border to the Sumas-Huntington Border Crossing between British Columbia and Washington state, with other branches extending to Fort St. John and Gordondale, Alta.
Presentation slides attached to the meeting’s agenda say that the Sunrise expansion program would add a 42-inch diameter pipeline and additional compression to add capacity to transport 300 million cubic feet of natural gas a day on the part of the line that goes from Chetwynd to the U.S. border.
This pipeline made news in the Prince George area in 2018, when it suffered an explosion northeast of the city in Shelley, near a Lheidli T’enneh First Nation Reserve. The First Nation sued Enbridge in February 2019 to have the pipeline rerouted away from the reserve before the lawsuit was dropped in July 2022.
Within the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, the project would include:
- 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
To facilitate the workers needed for the project, Enbridge is proposing two temporary accommodation sites, one near Mackenzie and the other in the Pine Pass near Powder King Mountain Resort.
The former site would require 22.5 acres of land and house up to 700 workers while the latter site would require 10 acres of land and house up to 150 workers. Both accommodation sites would be set up in the first quarter of 2027.
The presentation slides said the temporary sites would minimize the project’s impact on the infrastructure and facilities of local communities and reduce commuting time for workers. They also said that the locations “are being determined in collaboration with local communities and Indigenous groups.”
Documents linked in the slides show that the Sunrise project was submitted to the Canada Energy Regulator on May 30, 2024.
CTI Plus’ presentation slides said that the Calgary-based company is six open-pit mining sites in one block and another open-pit site in a separate block.
If the mine is built, the company expects a 14-year lifespan and to produce up to three million tonnes of raw coal a year or two million tonnes of clean coal a year. The proposed site is within the Peace River Regional District, northeast of the border with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
A timeline included in the presentation estimate that an environmental assessment application in the third quarter of 2026 and construction would start in 2028.
The company said it is working with nine Indigenous communities on the project, including McLeod Lake Indian Band, and eight local governments, including the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and the District of Mackenzie.
The June 19 board meeting is being held in Mackenzie, at the recreation centre at 400 Skeena Dr. starting at 1:30 p.m.
For those who cannot attend in person, the meeting will be livestreamed at rdffg.ca.
