On August 21, over 300 people attended a "Pipeline Impact Meeting" hosted by local youth organizers of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition. Concerns expressed were around the potential environmental impact of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline and the Ksi Lsims terminal. 

On June 21st, a joint venture between the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG concluded a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project (“PRGT”) with former owner TC Energy.

The proposed pipeline is currently undergoing environmental assessment, with some construction slated to have begun. 

The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline would start in the Northeast of BC and end in the estuary of the Nass river at the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG terminal. The pipeline would cross the Babine, Suskwa, Salmon/Shegunia, Skeena, Kispiox and Nass rivers. 

Critics of the project say the damage done by trenching through, hanging over, tunneling under the rivers,creeks and streams will be too great.

Of the attendees at the meeting, a summer science student with Skeena Fisheries Commission, Patience Muldoe, who is of Gitxsan descent, said;

“There is no window of opportunity to dig through all these streams without causing irreparable harm to the fish.”

Local experts shared their data, showing they believe the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline would accelerate the demise of fish in the Kispiox River.

Some Nisga'a community members have announced they will begin pursing an injunction against construction.

In addition, Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs burned burned a benefits agreement they signed 10 years ago with the previous ownership, and have set up a blockade at Cranberry Junction where the access road for the project meets highway 37. 

Local and recreational traffic are being permitted to cross, but not LNG transport vehicles, who have been forced to reroute. 

In an August 1st statement,  Paul Marsden, the president of Bechtel Energy, which is the company selected to oversee the project, called it an exciting opportunity to show how major energy infrastructure can and should be developed in partnership with Indigenous communities.

“This is an exciting opportunity to showcase how major energy infrastructure can and should be developed in partnership with Indigenous communities. Together we will deliver this critical project to the highest standards of safety and environmental projection, creating jobs, supporting economic development, and setting a new benchmark for responsible energy infrastructure development in Canada.” 

Upon completion of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, Eva Clayton, President of the Nisga’a Lisims Government, said; “PRGT is our chance as Indigenous people to develop a pipeline project in our own way, to show how it can and should be done. By working together, and with world-leading construction managers, we’re confident this project will set a new bar for environmental protection and leave a legacy of prosperity for Nations across B.C.”

But, the attitude at the "Pipeline Impact Meeting" was starkly different;

“A billion dollar check is not wealth, that will be gone,” Naxginkw/Tara Marsden, Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs’ Wilp Sustainability Director, commented at the meeting. "But, investing in our young people and giving them a chance at a healthy future–that is wealth.”