British Columbia has once again green-lit the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline, reaffirming an approval first issued under the former Christy Clark government for the line that will supply a major new liquefied natural gas export terminal proposed on the province’s northern coast. The decision by the head of B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) on Thursday means that PRGT’s environmental assessment certificate will remain in effect for the life of the project, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the 12-million-tonne-per-year (Mtpa) Ksi Lisims LNG project. “This is an important step, not just for PRGT, but for the Nisga’a Nation’s vision of self-determination and long-term prosperity,” Eva Clayton, president of Nisga’a Lisims Government, which co-owns PRGT and Ksi Lisims with Houston-based Western LNG LLC, said in a statement. “This project, and the Ksi Lisims LNG project, marks a turning point. For too long, Indigenous nations have watched resource development happen around us instead of with us.” The floating LNG terminal proposed for Pearse Island, north of Prince Rupert, B.C., still awaits key environmental sign-offs from provincial and federal officials, but Thursday’s decision confirms that the 750-kilometre pipeline intended to supply feed gas to the liquefaction facility can go ahead. PRGT, which would transport around two billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the West Coast, had initially been granted its certificate in 2014 when TC Energy Corp. advanced the project to supply the Petronas-backed Pacific NorthWest LNG project. But Petroliam Nasional Bhd. — the legal name of Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas — cancelled Pacific NorthWest LNG in 2017 amid economic and regulatory headwinds, leaving PRGT to languish until Western LNG and the Nisga’a Nation bought the project in 2024, amending and shortening the proposed route to supply Ksi Lisims LNG. The long delay put the pipeline at risk of losing its environmental certificate since, under provincial rules, each certificate comes with a deadline by which a project must be substantially started and PRGT’s was contingent upon a November 2024 start date. The pipeline’s owners said construction began on Nisga’a territory last August, while opponents, in a bid to prevent the certificate from being revived, dismissed the work as minor, suggesting it did not meet provincial criteria. But in his decision released Thursday , Alex MacLennan, head of the EAO, pointed to the clearing of 42 kilometres of the pipeline’s right-of-way and the construction of permanent features identified in the project’s plans, including nine bridges, 47 kilometres of roads and a lodge. Of the $584 million that has been spent on the project since 2013, around $70 million was invested during the first year of construction, the decision said. Around 24 First Nations and 29 Gitxsan Wilps — the traditional house groups of the Gitxsan Nation led by hereditary chiefs — were invited to provide input on the decision, MacLennan said. Around 32 members of the public and environmental groups also submitted comments, with the majority taking the position that the project had not substantially started. Concerns were raised about the project’s greenhouse gas emissions and uncertainty over the pipeline’s final route, and two amendments are currently under review, but he said those concerns fell outside the scope of his decision. “Though there was feedback received expressing opposition to the project, this is not the issue before me,” MacLennan said in his decision. “The determination at hand is not whether the project is in the public interest; that decision was made when the certificate was granted.” Fifteen of a possible 20 project agreements have been signed between First Nations and the pipeline, according to the EAO. The remaining five are entering negotiations. “We are delighted that other Nations along the route have expressed interest in joining us as equity owners in PRGT,” Clayton said. Vowing to continue their fight to stop construction of the pipeline, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs said in a statement that they do not consent to its passage through their territory. Pivotal pipeline decision loomsReport doubts potential Quebec LNG project Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, expressed solidarity with the Gitanyow in a statement accusing the B.C. government of going against its own promises. “There are First Nations who have very loudly stated their opposition to this pipeline and they will continue to do so,” he said. “This is not a government who believes in reconciliation and it could trigger a long, hot summer.” • Email: mpotkins@postmedia.com Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the business news you need to know — add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.