The proposed $7.9-billion Site C hydroelectric dam on the Peace River cleared major environmental hurdles Tuesday as the federal and B.C. governments granted environmental certificates, but the decision to start construction won鈥檛 be made until the end of the year.
B.C.鈥檚 Environment Minister Mary Polak said the province remains convinced building the dam is in the public interest and its benefits outweigh the risks of significant adverse environmental, social and heritage effects.
Federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq issued a similar statement, saying Ottawa believes Site C鈥檚 environmental impacts are justified.
The Sierra Club of B.C. called the decision flawed, warning Site C is a mega-dam that will have effects on First Nations and wildlife that cannot be mitigated.
Opposition New Democrat energy critic Adrian Dix said the project should be subject to a review by the B.C. Utilities Commission, once standard in B.C. The B.C. government鈥檚 clean-energy laws now allow some major projects to bypass the regulatory agency.
B.C. Hydro鈥檚 Site C spokesman David Conway said the project has been undergoing public reviews and consultations with First Nations, communities and stakeholders since 2007.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a major milestone for the project,鈥� he said.
A joint review panel report released in May concluded that replacing a portion of the Peace River with an 83-kilometre long reservoir would cause significant adverse effects on fish, their habitat, and a number of other species, plants and sensitive ecosystems. The report also said the project would significantly affect land and resources traditionally used by First Nations and the effect of that on treaty rights would have to be weighed by government.
But the panel concluded the province will need new energy and new capacity at some point and the dam would provide a large amount of inexpensive power that would be low in greenhouse-gas emissions.
The dam would produce 1,100 megawatts of capacity every year, enough to power about 450,000 homes.
B.C. Energy Minister Bill Bennett has said that if the project is approved, construction could start as early as this January, with completion in 2024.
The federal and B.C. environmental approvals come with more than 80 legally binding conditions B.C. Hydro must meet.
Polak said the B.C. conditions include establishing a $20-million fund to compensate for lost agricultural lands. The certificate also calls for B.C. Hydro to develop a plan to compensate and mitigate changes expected in wetland habitat.
B.C. Hydro must also work with aboriginal businesses and build up to 50 rental units in Fort St. John for construction workers.
Polak said she expected a B.C. government decision on the project by the end of the year. She said negotiations are underway with five of seven area First Nations., while offers have been made to the remaining two.
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