A lawsuit against the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline has been dismissed by the B.C. Supreme Court. Justice Michael Tammen ruled that the groups who filed the petition did not have the legal standing to continue with their challenge.
The case was filed in March by the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, the Kispiox Valley Community Centre Association, and the Kispiox Band council. They accused the BC Energy Regulator of approving construction on section 5B of the pipeline without requiring an updated cumulative effects assessment. They argued that because the environmental assessment certificate was nearing the end of its ten-year term, a new review should have been mandatory.
The pipeline is an 890-kilometre project that runs from Hudson’s Hope to an area north of Prince Rupert. It was first launched in 2014 by TC Energy and was sold in 2024 to the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG. The section under dispute lies entirely on Nisga’a Nation land.
Justice Tammen’s ruling, issued on August 20, rejected the petition. He explained that the court considers three factors when deciding whether to grant public interest standing: whether the case raises a serious legal issue, whether the petitioners have a genuine stake in the matter, and whether the petition is a reasonable way to bring the issue before the courts.
On the first factor, the judge said the case was too narrow to be of wide public importance. The pipeline as a whole had already undergone a full environmental review, and the certificate was still valid when the regulator approved construction. Since the petition only questioned one condition in a single section of the project, it did not raise a broad issue of law or government authority.
On the second factor, he ruled that the petitioners had no significant stake in the outcome. Section 5B does not pass through the Skeena or Kispiox valleys, meaning the groups are not directly affected by this stage of construction.
On the third factor, Tammen said a more appropriate time to raise objections would be when approval is sought for section 5A of the pipeline, which does cross through the Kispiox Valley. He stressed that the current petition was not the right way to bring the matter before the court.
The judge also criticized the approach of the petitioners, calling some of them “busybody litigants” who were challenging a minor decision in a much larger project. However, he drew a distinction with the Kispiox Band council, refraining from labeling them in that way but concluding that their interests were not closely aligned enough with the larger Gitxsan Nation community to justify their standing.
Tammen noted that there will be opportunities for the groups to challenge the pipeline in the future when permit decisions directly affect their lands. For now, construction on section 5B is permitted to move forward.
The petitioners have 30 days from the August 20 ruling to file an appeal if they choose. An appeal could bring the matter back before the courts, but unless that happens, work on the disputed section will continue.
The Prince Rupert gas pipeline remains a major infrastructure project in northern British Columbia. Backed by the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG, supporters argue that it will create jobs, boost local revenue, and help expand the province’s role in the global liquefied natural gas market. Opponents remain concerned about environmental impacts and say that regulatory oversight has not been strict enough. The debate over the project is expected to continue as construction advances across the region.
