PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. – The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline project, now owned by the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG, has cleared a critical regulatory hurdle. The BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) announced Thursday it has determined the project was “substantially started” before its 2024 deadline, allowing its original 2014 environmental certificate to remain valid for the life of the project.
This decision is a major victory for the pipeline’s new owners, who acquired it from TC Energy in March 2024. The pipeline is the critical component intended to supply natural gas to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility, a floating export terminal planned for Pearse Island in the Nass Valley.
The original certificate required that significant work on the 900-kilometre pipeline begin by November 25, 2024. In his decision, the EAO’s chief executive assessment officer stated that the physical work completed, combined with other investments, demonstrated “a strong intention to advance the project in the near term.”
The EAO’s assessment process included a field assessment and considered information provided by the company, the public, and several First Nations, including the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs and Gitxsan Wilps.
While this decision secures the project’s environmental approval, several key steps remain. The EAO is still assessing two separate amendment requests for the PRGT pipeline:
- A crucial request to change the pipeline’s route, moving the endpoint from the original Lelu Island site to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG location on Pearse Island.
- A second request to reroute an eastern portion of the pipeline near Chetwynd to follow an existing right-of-way.
The “substantially started” ruling removes a major element of uncertainty for the pipeline, a project poised to reshape the economic landscape of the Northwest by connecting northeastern B.C.’s natural gas fields to the coast for export.
