BC Government is 'investigating' Coquihala River pipeline work with salmon spawning

BC Environment Minister George Heyman said the province continued pipeline construction activities in Coquihara. It says it is investigating complaints of Despite the potential harm, it can cause premature salmon spawning.

Following concerns raised by environmental groups this week, the minister tweeted that the government would take action "within our jurisdiction" to investigate. His MLA Adam Olsen in Green called on NDP governments to fight to protect critical ecosystems.

Kate Tyrian, , a volunteer with the group Protect the Planet, told the Post Media on Tuesday.

Heyman said that environmental permits and potential compliance measures related to salmon and fish habitat would be Although it said it was being handled by the Canadian Fisheries and Ocean Service and the Canadian Energy Regulatory Agency, the BC Conservation Officer Service was present at the scene and "relayed the information" to relevant monitoring agencies, including the DFO and the province of BC. Oil and Gas Commission.

Details of what the conservation officer saw in the river have yet to be released.

The government also "ensures that the work has the proper authority and complies with permits under limited jurisdictions," the ministry said in a statement emailed Wednesday. Inspectors were dispatched to the scene to confirm. "Ask" the federal government to protect wild salmon.

"We have expressed these concerns to the federal government," the statement said.

Her DFO was contacted on Thursday in response to mounting calls to stop work on the river.

Olsen saidhe was "unsettled" to hear that salmon populations in the Coquihala River were being threatened during their migration. 58} Armon represents a vital part of the ecosystem and it is unacceptable for it to be endangered beyond the priorities of fossil fuel companies.As British Columbia's salmon stocks are already declining, We cannot risk further damage to the population," he said in a statement. 

"Work halted on Trans Mountain until salmon migration is complete The permit to drill the river was issued for the lowest risk scenario, and jeopardizing the migration of vulnerable keystone species is not the lowest risk scenario."

Olsen asked B.C. The NDP government joins the Greens in "our call to protect this critical ecosystem." , an excavation in the river using an excavator to install pipes for the Trans Mountain expansion and at the same time replace part of the existing pipeline. Limit environmental impact to the Coquihala River, according to the Trans Mountain Construction Bulletin.

The company said in a statement that "great care is taken to maintain the environmental character of Habitat” included.

In a statement emailed to The Postmedia on Tuesday, Trans Mountain said all work was being done in accordance with permits and has been approved by the Canadian energy regulator. pointed out the riparian habitat management plan.

Tairyan said he was surprised that the DFO had given Trans Mountain permission to "enter a river with spawning salmon."

ticrawford@postmedia.com

— Attached files by Derrick Penner