It is not the biggest pipeline project in British Columbia, but in a letter released Friday morning by the National Energy Board, it was announced the Wyndwood Pipeline project located near Chetwynd in far northeast B.C. has been given the green light.
The pipeline is currently a loop of the Westcoast Energy Fort St. John Mainline. The expansion would add 27 kilometres of pipeline to the existing route.
The NEB attached 32 conditions to its approval, including several related to minimizing disturbances within sensitive caribou ranges and accelerating the restoration of their habitat.
Mel Deck, acting mayor of Chetwynd, is pleased with the decision, calling it “good news” for the region which relies on the industry as one of its economic drivers.
“We are quite diversified here – agriculture, forestry, oil and gas and coal, but every little bit helps.”
Deck adds that in the far north there seems to be more acceptance to the oil and gas industry and he didn’t see much opposition to the project.
Oral hearings were held in early April in Calgary and early June in Chetwynd. The NEB also gathered input through written comments, questions and evidence. After considering all the evidence, the NEB found that the project was in the Canadian public interest.
The estimated cost for the project is $170 million.
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