Regulator calls out Trans Mountain for 'environmental non-compliance' in B.C.

The company building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been cited for environmental non-compliance related to its management of recent flooding in British Columbia.

The Canada EnergyRegulator (CER)said Thursday its inspection officers found issues near Abbotsford,B.C., whereTransMountainCorp. has been working on the final stretch of the multi-year oil pipeline project.

Theregulatorsaid the Crown corporation was not properly maintaining a watercourse isolation, wildlife fencing, soil coverings and dewatering pump and sump locations following recent heavy rain.

The CER has ordered Trans Mountain to address the environmental deficiencies, develop a water management plan and investigate and report on its environmental failings in the area.

TheTransMountainpipeline is Canada's only oil pipeline to the West Coast and its expansion will increase the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000 barrels per day currently.

Construction is more than 98 per cent complete, butTransMountain has been racing against the clock as it deals with a variety of difficulties related to hard rock and challenging terrain.

The latest estimated cost of the project is $30.9 billion, according to the corporation's website, up from a 2017 estimate of$7.4 billion.