A major oil and gas company has been penalized $75,000 over an unpermitted road and three snow bridges it built in a rural corner of British Columbia — violations the province's energy regulator described as part of a “troubling” pattern.
Ken McLean, a compliance and enforcement officer with the B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER), handed the penalty to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) in a decision dated Dec. 9, 2024.
The violations stem from work carried out in the winter of 2021 and 2022, when the Calgary-based company built snow bridges over three streams near an oil and gas well about 110 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John.
When inspectors from the energy regulator arrived in the spring of 2022, they found the company had failed to remove the snow crossings — one of which flows into the Cameron River, a waterbody that supports Arctic grayling.
By April 2022, officers saw the streams had begun to fill, creating a tunnel in one of the snow bridges. The tunnel, notes the decision, “was preventing fish passage as it was small and filled with debris from the snow fill.”
When inspection officers returned in May, the snow fill bridges were still there, and spring meltwater was backing up behind them in violation of provincial regulations. One snow crossing had been partially washed away without any sign the company had tried to remove it.
Any oil and gas operator that builds a crossing over a stream, wetland or lake must ensure fish aren’t blocked from moving through the waterbody. If they do, they are liable for up to $500,000 in penalties, according to B.C. environmental regulations.
'Similar pattern of behaviour'
McLean found that while there was insufficient evidence to determine whether the snow fill prevented the movement of fish, the company did not have a policy and procedure in place to remove the snow fills, and therefore failed to exercise due diligence.
The BCER decision noted this is the sixth time the company has been found in contravention of provincial regulations. In one of those incidents, CNRL was found to have a “similar pattern of behaviour” and did not have a proactive policy or procedures to manage its activities.
McLean found CNRL had no mechanism in place to ensure that its snow fills were removed prior to freshet.
“This suggests that it had little regard for the importance of the regulatory requirement and was waiting for non-compliances to be identified by the [B.C. Energy Regulator] as opposed to taking a proactive approach to managing its regulatory requirements,” said McLean.
“This approach to compliance is troubling.”
Company waits for regulator to complain before taking action
McLean found the contravention was not deliberate but was inevitable. He said there was not enough evidence to suggest the company gained an economic benefit from its inaction.
CNRL received a $50,000 penalty over the snow bridges and another $25,000 for failing to obtain a road permit.
When it came to the road, McLean once again found the company “did not show any efforts to prevent the contravention from happening.”
The company’s method to manage non-status roads was “to wait to be notified by the regulator then apply for transition permits,” he added.
A response from CNRL to the energy regulator said the company was adopting new practices to help avoid future contraventions.
