With Thursday’s announcement that a new oil pipeline will follow the previous Trans Mountain route through the North Thompson, an electoral area director is calling for community engagement as the project moves forward.
Usoff Tsao, Area A (Wells Gray Country) director with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, shared some comments on the proposed pipeline project and some information he received from a Trans Mountain representative.
“The feedback so far from myself and residents who reached out has been excitement about the economic opportunities but also a concern related to the apparent detour from the existing route,” Tsao said.
The first Trans Mountain Pipeline was built in 1953 and is still in operation. An expansion project — a second pipeline, basically — began construction in 2019 and opened in 2024.
Tsao said the new route seems to follow these for the most part, but detours in the Wells Gray Country region.
“It appears on a map in a CBC news article that the new route will diverge from the existing one from Blue River to Clearwater, following a more southern route. This would bypass Vavenby.”
He said he heard from community members who expressed concern about the pipeline pushing through new wilderness areas around nearby communities.
“At the last meeting with Trans Mountain about the Optimization Project before this third pipeline was announced, I had requested Trans Mountain conduct more public information on employment and contract opportunities,” Tsao said. “Obviously the major benefit is through economic opportunities for our rural small, unincorporated communities.”
The Area A director said it could be a good thing if the new pipeline takes a detour around Vavenby, as the community will potentially be very busy there with the Yellowhead Mine, “if it comes to fruition.”
He said at the last Trekor (formerly Taseko) open house, it looked like the Yellowhead copper project was five to seven years away from the construction phase.
“But with the third pipeline announcement, which even as of a few months ago when I asked Trans Mountain representatives if it was happening and they said no, it seems major projects can have major changes to timetable at any time.”
Tsao said he hopes lessons from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project will be taken into account when it comes to impacts on community health care, traffic and housing.
He also noted there is “still major concern” about the devaluation of pipeline properties by BC Assessment. Tsao hopes the B.C. government and Trans Mountain will keep the dialogue open about this if the project goes ahead.
Trans Mountain providing information
Tsao also shared some information about the project that he received from a Trans Mountain representative.
According to an email exchange about the project timeline, the Alberta government has asked the Major Projects Office to designate the pipeline a project of national importance, with a target decision date of Oct. 1, 2026.
Trans Mountain said the project is in the early stages of development, with additional regulatory processes to follow.
Tsao asked how unincorporated communities in electoral areas will be consulted on the project.
“Detailed routing will continue to be refined through environmental review, engagement with Indigenous communities and engagement with communities and stakeholders, as well as engineering design,” the Trans Mountain representative replied. “In the coming days and weeks, we will be in touch regarding next steps on engagement.”
He also asked about the deviation from the existing route between Blue River and Clearwater, and whether it would go into or near Upper Adams River Provincial Park, or overlap with the Yellowhead Mine work area.
“A proposed corridor for the length of the pipeline has been identified and is designed to follow existing disturbances where possible,” The Trans Mountain representative replied. “The Project is not a new greenfield project, although a limited number of new development areas may be required.
“In B.C., the Project corridor generally follows the existing Trans Mountain pipeline system between the Alberta-B.C. border and Hope, B.C. The corridor deviates from the Trans Mountain route west of Hope due to the location of the delivery terminal and marine facility, which is proposed to be in the industrial area of Roberts Bank in Delta, B.C.,” the company continued.
“Although the corridor has been identified, it is early days and detailed routing is yet to be determined. Routing will be refined considering factors including input from communities.”