Conservationists are breathing a sigh of relief now that TransCanada has confirmed it’s axing plans to build an Energy East pipeline terminal in endangered beluga habitat.
The company first suspended construction on the waterfront export terminal in Cacouna, Quebec, back in December after the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada recommended classifying a small population of belugas known to breed and gather in that region of the Gulf of St. Lawrence as endangered. There are only roughly 1,000 of the white whales left in the region.
The pipeline giant had already faced a number of delays after courts found that Quebec’s environment ministry had approved exploratory drilling without proper consultation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and again when drilling was found to violate noise regulations.
The Cacouna terminal and the Energy East pipeline have met fierce opposition from of environmentalists, indigenous groups and average Quebecers. According to polls, only a third of the province supports the proposed Energy East pipeline, which would carry 1.1 million barrels per day of Alberta crude to refineries and export terminals in Quebec and New Brunswick, making it North American’s largest pipeline.
TransCanada says it’s researching alternative pipeline terminals in Quebec and will hand in its updated plans to the National Energy Board by the fall. That means hearings into the fate of Energy East aren’t likely to start until at least early 2016.
In a joint statement, a coalition including 350.org, Forest Ethics and the Natural Resources Defense Council says the delay “presents yet another major stumbling block for the tar sands industry’s expansion plans.”
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