VICTORIA — Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. has been fined more than $170,000 after inspectors found what the British Columbia government says were repeated issues of erosion and sediment control. 

A statement from the Environmental Assessment Office says more than 40 inspections have been carried out along the pipeline construction route since the project began in 2019. 

It says the company has been handed 37 warnings, 16 orders and two administrative penalties. 

The statement says inspections along the right-of-way in the seven months ending in April found ongoing non-compliance for erosion and sediment control, which can affect water quality and fish habitats. 

The first penalty handed out in February cost the company $72,500 and the office says the most recent and larger fine is part of an escalation of enforcement action. 

The company said in a release last week that it was nearing 65 per cent completion of the 670-kilometre pipeline that spans northern B.C. from the Dawson Creek area to the LNG shipping facility near Kitimat. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2022. 

The Canadian Press