Through years of Project planning and engagement with Indigenous Peoples and their communities, Trans Mountain has developed extensive mitigation plans to reduce potential impacts to Traditional Land Use (TLU) areas and Heritage Resources along the construction footprint of the Expansion Project.

TLU refers to the access and use of natural resources or landscape by Indigenous groups for traditional purposes. Heritage Resources refers to objects, sites and areas of cultural, historical or archaeological significance to all Canadians.

Information about known TLU and Heritage Resource sites has been incorporated into our Environmental Protection Plans (EPPs) and other documents that guide construction contractors, Environmental Inspectors and Indigenous Monitors regarding field requirements and mitigation during construction activity.

Regulator-approved contingency plans, including our Traditional Land Use Site Discovery Contingency Plan and our Heritage Resources Contingency Plan, are also in place in the event a previously unidentified potential TLU or Heritage Resource is found during construction activity – what’s known as a Chance Find.

We’ve also developed a three-gate “stoplight” process for such Chance Finds to ensure the site is protected from activities in the area, that Indigenous communities are notified and engaged, and that appropriate mitigation is developed prior to construction progressing at the location.

Upon discovery of a Chance Find, work is stopped in the immediate area. The site is flagged or fenced off, an Environmental Inspector and Indigenous Monitor gather preliminary details about the site, and an independent third-party specialist evaluates the resource and reviews and recommends mitigation options. During this time, a series of engagements is undertaken with applicable Indigenous groups to provide site information, gather available Indigenous knowledge and inform mitigation plans.