The recent uptake in construction for TC Energy’s West Path Delivery Program pipeline project has been cause for concern in some residents.

David McIntyre, who lives in Rock Creek valley, has raised concern with the company and with Shootin’ the Breeze over implications of the construction for residents and for the environment.

“Residents have been living with the problems for months, and work appears to be intensifying,” he says in an email to Shootin’ the Breeze.

He references conversations with other residents, including one where a 101-year-old woman and her granddaughter expressed worries about the dust on North Burmis Road.

The image above shows what McIntyre describes as a “massive, over-the-Livingstone-Range pipeline project.”

From his regular vantage point, McIntyre saw what he describes as a steady stream of truck traffic from the primary staging area along with a lingering cloud of dust.

The MD of Pincher Creek’s council package for its June 27 meeting reports submitted complaints regarding road conditions in the area and McIntyre believes such complaints are related to TC Energy’s use.

There have been recent requests for dust control and management of washboarding, and a request for councillors to see the “rough” condition of the road. One caller suggested “TC Energy [is] making a mess.”

According to public notes from a presentation given by TC Energy to MD council May 23, dust control is to be managed by the county (MD) in consultation with the company. 

Documents from the delegation state that TC Energy “strive[s] to limit noise, dust and smells throughout construction and operation of the project” and “make[s] every effort to minimize the impact of traffic during the life of the project.”

“TC Energy can, of course, do much better or, if it can’t, what’s to be said of the integrity of its pipelines?” asks McIntyre.

He has also raised concerns about the condition of Rock Creek, which he has described to TC Energy as being a “blackish hue,” then clear, then “decidedly muddy.” He raises particular worry for the condition of the already threatened cutthroat trout population in the nearby waters.

One of his biggest concerns is what he feels is the lack of public consultation the company has done.

In a media statement to Shootin’ the Breeze, a TC Energy spokesperson said, “Specific to the NGTL Lundbreck section, since 2020, TC Energy has been actively engaging communities in southern Alberta.”

They note a community and business engagement open house hosted in Blairmore in March.

“We are open to engaging with community members and groups who are interested in the project and have planned a meeting with interested community members along our access route in the area for later this month.”

TC Energy encourages directing any questions on the project to the project team at 1-855-895-8754 or to public_affairs_ca@tcenergy.com.

McIntyre hopes to see more engagement and public consultation on the part of TC Energy as the project moves forward.

“TC Energy, despite its abysmal track record to date, still has an opportunity to show residents and others impacted by its work that it is capable of living up to its promises, capable and willing to invest in measures that lessen its impact on the land, and the people living in close proximity to its pipelines,” he says.

TC Energy’s pipeline construction zone as seen looking west over Rock Creek on July 7. Photo by David McIntyre