BC Hydro boosts plans to build controversial Site C dam

Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, September 15, 2005

Two senior managers have been assigned to prepare the Peace River project for final approval, a memo shows

CREDIT: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun Files
Peace River Valley islands and farmland face being covered with water if BC Hydro gets to build the Site C dam near Fort St. John.

BC Hydro is accelerating plans for a controversial $3.5-billion power project that would require flooding a vast area of the Peace River Valley and is assigning two senior managers to prepare the Site C dam project for final approval.

A Sept. 7 internal Hydro memo says the two have been appointed to set the direction for public and first nations consultation, regulatory approvals and communications -- prompting several Site C critics to suggest that Hydro has decided the project will proceed.

The project, to be built near Fort St. John, is supported by Energy Minister Richard Neufeld but has been opposed by area residents and environmentalists since it was first proposed in the mid-1970s.

Potentially B.C.'s fourth-largest hydroelectric facility, it has been rejected in the past as too costly and because of adverse environmental impacts.

At a rough cost of $3.5 billion, not including potential compensation to first nations and the impact of escalating construction costs across North America, it would be one of the most expensive infrastructure projects ever undertaken in B.C.

The dam would join two others already in service on the Peace including the WAC Bennett Dam and Peace Canyon, and would flood an additional area of the Peace Valley 15 times as large as Stanley Park.

It would be a 900-megawatt facility generating enough electricity to serve 500,000 households -- although that's still less power than British Columbia imports each year to serve the province's domestic needs.

The Hydro memo announces that Steve Eckert, acting manager for power acquisitions, has been promoted to acting general manager for Site C. Hydro staffer Al Boldt, who has experience in large project design and construction, has been appointed manager of public and regulator affairs for Site C.

"Steve will provide leadership to take the project through to the approval stage," the memo says.

Hydro spokeswoman Elisha Moreno said Wednesday that despite the appointments, the Site C project won't proceed until -- and unless -- it receives approval from the Hydro board and provincial cabinet.

"We don't want people to think this is a done deal by any account," Moreno said.
However, Hugh Taylor, land use manager for the West Moberly First Nation, noted in an interview that when Richard Neufeld paid a recent visit to the area to study proposals for wind power, "Site C was all he could talk about."

"I think it means they are trying to keep the project going. They will probably hold off formal approval until they are so far down the line that it only makes sense to complete it. I don't think Hydro is being very transparent, and it's prejudicial to wind power proponents," said Taylor.

Ruth Ann Darnall, chairwoman of the Peace Valley Association, said it now appears Hydro intends to proceed with the project.

"I don't understand why Hydro is doing all this if they're not sure cabinet will tell them to go ahead," Darnall said. "I think it would be nice if folks down south could generate their own power."

Brian Churchill, an environmental consultant in Fort St. John, said Hydro appears to be following Neufeld's leadership on Site C.

"I'm really concerned that at this point in time the cost estimates of Site C, are very unclear as to whether this project is in the province's best interests or not. We're missing properly-done cost estimates for building Site C, transmission lines for Site C, and for the environmental and social impacts of Site C," Churchill said.

"I personally don't think the public will support Site C. The Peace River Valley has paid its price in supporting the energy needs of the province . . . in the two existing Hydro dams."

Hydro critic David Austin, who represents independent power producers in B.C., called on Hydro to produce a comprehensive assessment of Site C's costs before taking other steps towards development of the project.

He's not opposed to Site C in principle, but said Hydro is "getting too far ahead of themselves without the release of the basic financial model."

Austin has made formal requests for Site C cost details, in Hydro hearings before the B.C. Utilities Commission, but said he is still waiting for a satisfactory response.

"The project has been around a very long time and the creation and release of a properly functioning financial model should be a very simple exercise," Austin said.

THE NUMBERS:
- Current estimated cost of project: $3.5 billion.
- Electricity potential: 900 megawatts, enough for 500,000 homes
- Time required to complete project: Seven years.
- Approvals required: BC Hydro board, B.C. provincial cabinet, B.C. Utilities Commission.
- Jobs created: 7,650 person-years of work.
- Peak workforce: 2,015 people in year four of construction.

CAPACITY OF BC HYDRO'S TOP FIVE GENERATING FACILITIES:
Shrum Generating Station/WAC Bennett -- 2,730 megawatts
Revelstoke -- 1,980 megawatts
Mica -- 1,805 megawatts
Peace Canyon -- 694 megawatts
Seven Mile -- 594 megawatts
Site C on Peace River -- 900 megawatts

Source: Vancouver Sun
Ran with fact boxes "The Numbers" and "Capacity of BC Hydro's Top Five Generating Facilities", which have been appended to the end of the story.