Squamish's Luke Gatien says last Sunday, he explored the forest around the FortisBC site near the Northyards, where the is under construction; what he observed concerned him.
He says there were 鈥渃lear signs of environmental damage,鈥� near where the tunnel drilling site is.
Nine kilometres of new natural gas pipeline will include a tunnel running under the Skwelwil鈥檈m Squamish Estuary.
The overall project involves a pipeline from north of Coquitlam to the currently under construction Woodfibre LNG export facility site on the shore of Howe Sound.
Gatien, who says he was checking out the area merely as a concerned citizen, said he saw evidence of 鈥渟ignificant harm鈥� to the fish habitat, including high water turbidity in all channels close to the drilling site.
He was concerned by a lack of environmental monitors on-site on the Sunday he was there.
He also saw no visible water quality instruments in the affected water.
He also notes there was a dead wood duck in the turbid water, though he acknowledges this may not be related to the water quality.
鈥淏ut in my 10 years of living in Squamish and walking in the estuary, this is the first time I encountered a dead animal that had no signs of predation,鈥� he said.
He forwarded his concerns to the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO), a neutral regulatory agency within the provincial government, and to the S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw (Squamish Nation), which is also an independent regulator on the project.
He shared the email he sent with The 劲爆大瓜.
Contractor investigating
Darrin Marshall, project director of the Eagle Mountain pipeline, said that construction continues on the project overall, but work on the tunnel site has been stopped temporarily.
鈥淎s an update on the tunnel component of the project, our contractor is investigating site conditions across from the BC Rail site near Government Road. As a result, tunnelling is currently paused as our contractor stabilizes the ground ahead of the tunnel boring machine to enable crews to carry out an inspection. We have been working closely with our regulators to confirm how we can progress the work in compliance with our regulatory approvals,鈥� Marshall said.
鈥淲e are currently approximately 200 metres away from the Skwelwil鈥檈m Squamish Estuary and Wildlife Management Area鈥攁pproximately the length of two football fields,鈥� he added.
鈥淭he use of an underground tunnel for this portion of the pipeline work was borne out of local Indigenous community input to protect the Skwelwil鈥檈m Squamish Estuary. A condition of approval by both Sk瘫wx瘫wu虂7mesh U虂xwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the BC Environmental Assessment Office is that there will be no surface impacts to the Skwelwil鈥檈m Squamish Estuary. We are currently working with Sk瘫wx瘫wu虂7mesh U虂xwumixw to ensure our conditions continue to be met before tunnelling resumes.鈥�
The company posted the same information on its .
鈥楬old FortisBC accountable鈥�
Local environmental group, , has been raising concerns about the tunnel portion of the project since the summer, writing letters to the EAO, one of which was forwarded to The 劲爆大瓜.
鈥淔ortisBC is manipulating the truth in their statement dated Nov. 19. While the official boundary of the Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area is 200 metres away, FortisBC neglects to mention that nearby connecting waterways are only 25 feet from the disturbed riparian area, and these waterways already appear to be impacted by FortisBC's attempts to stabilize the ground around the tunnel,鈥� said executive director Tracey Saxby, in an email.
鈥淭his is a disaster waiting to happen. We hope that the BC EAO, DFO, and Squamish Nation will step up as regulators to hold FortisBC accountable and stop the tunnel until this issue is resolved. The Squamish estuary is too precious to be put at risk.鈥�
'Nation staff identified concerns'
The Nation confirmed its members who monitor the project had concerns at the site.
鈥淚n recent weeks, Squamish Nation staff identified concerns through our routine on-site due diligence and immediately raised these concerns to Fortis through our regulatory role on the project," said Syexwaliya, Sk瘫wx瘫wu虂7mesh 脷xwumixw spokesperson and council Member, in an email to The 劲爆大瓜.
"Fortis has stopped active tunnelling work on the project. Squamish Nation is monitoring the situation and is in discussion with Fortis to confirm how they will maintain compliance before tunnelling resumes.鈥�
鈥楢ctively monitoring鈥�
A spokesperson for the EAO told The 劲爆大瓜 on Nov. 21 that compliance and enforcement officers and Squamish Nation environmental monitors are actively monitoring the project through ongoing on-site inspections and review of required documentation and reporting.
鈥淭he EAO is aware of the allegations and is following up, including with co-regulators Squamish Nation and the BC Energy Regulator,鈥� the spokesperson said.
鈥淩ecords of all inspections are posted to the once finalized, along with documentation of any enforcement action that may be taken.鈥�
Editor's note: this story has been updated since it was first posted to include comment from Squamish Nation.
