To support the installation of three kilometres of new gas pipeline in Coquitlam, we’ll commence drilling and hammering activities to break apart hard sections of rock and to level the ground in advance of excavation.Beginning Thursday, July 25, nearby residents and recreational users may notice increased noise and vibrations from this work. Additionally:The work will happen along FortisBC’s right of way, extending roughly 1.2km northward from the Eagle Mountain Compressor Station in Coquitlam. Work will continue from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday. To reduce inconvenience, the drilling and hammering activities will generally be from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.  This work is expected to continue through to September, and we anticipate additional related work starting mid-August, including blasting activities to assist with breaking sections of hard rock.We appreciate the community’s patience as we safely work to complete these activities.Overall, construction in Coquitlam will include three kilometres of new gas pipeline northwest of Westwood Plateau and the installation of two new electric-powered compressor units at our existing Eagle Mountain Compressor Station. To support the new compressor units, we’ll build a new substation in Eagle Mountain Park that will connect back to our compressor station through approximately 950 metres of new power lines.If you have any questions about this work, we encourage you to reach out to the FortisBC team at [email protected] or call 1-855-380-5784. You can also sign up for our email newsletter for the latest on construction activities.

We’re beginning our fifth and anticipated final year of construction on the Inland Gas Upgrades (IGU) Project. In 2024, we’ll be conducting new gas line upgrades and continuing upgrades from earlier years that will allow the use of in-line inspection equipment. This equipment will provide detailed information about the condition of each line which will help us to better plan and manage maintenance work.Other upgrades include replacing and decommissioning small sections of gas line as well as completing or adding pressure regulating stations (PRS) throughout our service territory. These stations help us regulate the pressure of gas so that it can move safely through our system and get delivered to homes and businesses.In 2024, we’ll be working in eight communities across four regions throughout B.C.:Northern Interior: We’ll return to work in Prince George for the installation of our final PRS upgrades and a gas line replacement, as well as decommission a small section of gas line in Mackenzie.Central Interior: We’ll return to work in Williams Lake to complete work on a new PRS.East Kootenay region: We’ll return to work on our gas lines in Kimberley, Sparwood and Cranbrook.Thompson-Okanagan: We’ll be starting new work on our gas lines in Armstrong and Enderby.The IGU Project continues to uphold its commitment to provide social and economic benefits to B.C. communities. In 2023, the project spent approximately $23.8 million through commitments to 198 B.C.-based businesses and contracted $11.3 million worth of goods and services from 150 vendors local to the communities where work on the IGU Project took place, accounting for 75.8 per cent of all B.C.-based vendors.Through targeted procurement, training and employment efforts, we’ve continued to provide opportunities for Indigenous-owned and -affiliated businesses year-over-year. For example, in 2023 the project spent approximately $9.6 million to 36 Indigenous-owned or -affiliated vendors, representing 19 First Nations and marking a third consecutive year of more than $9 million spent accordingly ($9.8 million in 2022, $9.3 million in 2021). Moreover, 83.3 per cent of contracted Indigenous-owned and -affiliated businesses were local to the communities in which they worked.

We’ve spent years engaging the Squamish community to explore opportunities to reduce potential workforce impacts in Squamish from the Eagle Mountain – Woodfibre Gas Pipeline (EGP) Project. Our ongoing engagement led us to propose a Temporary Workforce Lodge in 2022.The Workforce Lodge was proposed as a key mitigation following three years of engagement with local government, Indigenous groups, agencies and information sessions held with the broader community. Through feedback, we’ve heard the lodge is the most effective way to address concerns about potential impacts related to housing, tourism, traffic and community safety. Our proposal for the lodge was approved in 2023 by Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the BC Environmental Assessment Office (BC EAO).We continue to work through the Temporary Use Permit (TUP) process with the District of Squamish based on our application submitted in December 2022, with a focus on securing the District of Squamish’s approval in time to construct the lodge and have it ready to house our main workforce peak anticipated in 2025.As we await the District of Squamish’s TUP decision on the lodge, we continue to proactively implement measures to reduce potential impacts associated with the presence of a temporary workforce in Squamish.With a focus on community safety and services, some measures that have been implemented since construction began include:the EGP Project Worker Code of Conduct, which sets the standard of conduct expected of everyone engaged in work on the projecta cultural awareness orientation, which has been developed in collaboration with Indigenous communities and is required by all EGP Project construction personnelvoluntarily paying the Municipal Regional and District Tax to local hotels for remittance to Tourism Squamish until operation of the lodgeTo further support gender and cultural safety, new initiatives we’ve recently launched include:in-person gender and cultural safety education for the project workforce, to expand information about unique patterns of vulnerability for Indigenous women and girls and the types of personal conduct that supports gender and cultural safetyproviding a health and medical clinic for workers’ after-hours use, to enhance the resources to support worker well-being and reduce project-related use of local health servicesimplementing a third-party reporting line for community members to report concerns regarding the respectful conduct of EGP Project workers in the Squamish communityFortisBC's amended Environmental Assessment Certificate for the project requires us to have a Gender and Cultural Safety Plan in place before the lodge is operational. This will be developed in consultation with Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw, the District of Squamish and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation.