NOVA Gas North Corridor Expansion Project approved

OTTAWA, ON. – The NOVA Gas 2023 North Corridor System Expansion project has been approved by the federal government.

The $632 million project will add 81 kilometres of new pipeline to the existing NOVA system and its associated facilities in northwestern Alberta.  The pipeline is required to expand capacity to transport gas from the Peace River Project Area to growing intra-basin demand markets located in northeastern Alberta.

The project will generate $307 million in labour wages through 1,740 full-time jobs during construction.

There are 37 conditions tied to the approval related to safety, environmental and wildlife protection, Indigenous engagement, and protection of Indigenous rights and interests.

One condition involves NOVA Gas creating 786 hectares of caribou habitat, an area 30 times the size of the project’s footprint.

NOVA will also need to establish an Indigenous Working Group for the Red Earth and Chinchaga Caribou Ranges. Creating this group will ensure Indigenous involvement in creating new caribou habitat, given the species’ importance to their culture, traditional land, and intergenerational transfer of knowledge.

“We want good projects to get done, moving our natural resources to new markets and creating jobs,” says Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan. “This means meeting our duty to meaningfully consult with potentially impacted Indigenous communities and addressing risks to the environment and species at risk, particularly. By taking the time to do the hard work, good projects are being built in Canada.”

The North Corridor Project will help natural gas producers get their product to market, and it will support the government’s commitment to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030.

In its application filed on April 4th, 2019, Nova said that the project was needed to meet the company’s contract commitments to move gas from the Peace River Project Area to growing markets in Alberta.

NOVA Gas Transmission Line is a subsidiary of TC Energy.