Negotiations between the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and Enbridge over the 2018 pipeline explosion have been ended and the lawsuit will be moving forward.
The explosion damaged about 5.2 hectares of land near the Shelley Reserve — forcing an evacuation — and destroyed a portion of the 36-inch gas pipeline.
The nation is now seeking an order to reroute the pipeline away from the reserve and territory, along with damages.
Lawyer Malcolm Macpherson, representing the Lheidli T’enneh, says discussions were recently held between each party at Enbridge’s request to see if a solution could be found to settle the lawsuit, which began last fall.
However, Macpherson says the discussions did not ‘bear fruit’ and says the litigation will go forward without delay.
“The preference would be to have it rerouted off the entire territory, which is over 100 kilometers of pipeline. At a very minimum, it would be ideal from the client’s perspective, to have it rerouted off the 1.5 kilometers that traverses one of their reserves,” said Macpherson.
“All things are possible, it’s just a question of cost. It certainly would be costly for Enbridge to reroute, but pipeline companies have the ability. They could certainly reroute about 1.5 kilometers off the reserve and that is what is being asked.”
The Lheidli T’enneh say they experienced ‘pandemonium’ on the day of the explosion and, from their vantage point, there were no competent or world-class safety operations in place.
“The incendiary blast, and resulting fireball were terrifying,” said Macpherson.
“It is not business as usual for the Lheidli T’enneh, who do not consent to Enbridge transporting hydrocarbons in an unsafe manner through their reserve and territory,” he said.
Dayi Clay Pountney says the Enbridge brand has become synonymous with danger and mishap in the community.
“Enbridge says it is committed to safety and world-class standards, but we learned post-explosion and during negotiations that these are empty promises,” he remarked.
Pountney says the nation wants to warn neighboring Indigenous nations to be wary of doing business with the company.
“In our experience, Enbridge is not to be trusted,” added Pountney.
Enbridge has issued a statement in response, saying it is disappointed the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation has chosen to walk away from the talks and rejected Enbridge’s offer of bringing in an impartial mediator to help solve the matter.
“Enbridge values our relationship with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and we are committed to working with leadership and the community on strengthening that relationship,” said the statement.
“We have made several generous offers to the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation for the Shelley incident over the course of many months of negotiations. However, the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation is looking for a settlement from Enbridge on matters beyond the incident itself and that aren’t in our control or involve other parties.”
The company says it hopes to reach a settlement and avoid a lengthy legal proceeding, adding it has learned from the incident.
“We’ve completed a comprehensive pipeline integrity program on our natural gas pipeline system in B.C. to significantly improve pipeline safety. This program includes enhanced pipeline inspections, maintenance screening criteria, and more than 144 integrity digs,” the statement said.
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