Coastal GasLink (CGL) has voluntarily suspended work at its site south of Houston while claims of the discovery of artifacts on the site are investigated.
On being notified, Coastal GasLink took immediate steps to cordon off and protect the area and requested that a qualified archeologist visit the site. The Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) will also visit the site to further investigate the claims.
Coastal GasLink takes the conservation and protection of culturally-important heritage sites and artifacts seriously and has implemented an approved Heritage Resource Discovery Contingency Plan while notifying the responsible regulatory authorities.
As part of the permitting requirements, an Archeological Impact Assessment (AIA) was completed for the site and nearby area.
Unfortunately, during the regulatory and permitting process, CGL and its archaeologists were not able to access the 9A site due to road access issues and were therefore unable to conduct onsite fieldwork.
As a result, experienced licensed archeologists from Northern BC assessed the potential for artifacts at the site. The assessment determined low potential and no further work was required. The AIA was approved by the BC Archeology Branch in 2016.
There are no known archeological sites registered within 2,000 metres of the site, which was selected by CGL because of it being a previously disturbed area. The site in question was previously cleared and used as part of forestry work.
