Hydro project sought for Pitt
COMMENT: There are important issues associated with private small hydro projects. Privatization of generation and the diversion of massive amounts of public monies to private interests is one. Impacts on wilderness and on fish are two more. Transmission lines are another.
But with the Upper Pitt River Project, infringement on parkland is a primary concern. A park is a park is a park. It's not a parking spot for public land until some private interest has another use for the land.
But that is what is happening here. The cheapest and shortest route for the transmission line from these Upper Pitt River tributary power projects, is through Pinecone Burke Park.
The government knew this when it accepted the water licence applications from the company. So the government knew it was setting up this situation in which the company would have to apply to have land removed from the park. Yet it issued the licences anyway.
And it will be, or is, the government that will amend the park boundaries (by Order in Council). The government has already anticipated the situation in issuing the Provincial Park Boundary Adjustment Policy.
This government appears to hold private interests as having a higher value than the public interest. We've said this before, and we'll say it again. This project must not be allowed to infringe on parkland. If that means the project itself cannot proceed, so be it.
At some point, the proponent will submit draft Terms of Reference to the Environmental Assessment Office. Then the ToR will open up for public comment. We'll let you know when the public comment period begins.
In the meantime, you can write Premier Campbell and Environment Minister Barry Penner. Tell them that parks trump power projects, and you won't accept removal of land from Pinecone Burke or any other park to enable a power project.
See also:
Upper Pitt River Power Project
at the Environmental Assessment Office
Provincial Park Boundary Adjustment Policy
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/planning/bound_adj_policy.html
NO to transmission lines in BC's parks
http://www.sqwalk.com/bc2007/001003.html
Power of the Upper Pitt River
http://www.sqwalk.com/bc2007/001057.html
Rivers of Riches
in the Watershed Sentinel
Campaign for BC Parks
http://www.savebcparks.com/
Burke Mountain Naturalists
http://bmn.bc.ca
Water from eight streams would be diverted, transmission line run through park
Larry Pynn
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
A B.C. power company is proposing a major hydroelectric project in one of the Lower Mainland's last best recreational fishing watersheds.
The run-of-river project would divert water from eight streams in the Upper Pitt River and require a hydroelectric transmission line through Pinecone Burke Provincial Park.
Northwest Cascade Power Ltd. is before the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office seeking approval for eight penstocks -- piping used to divert the water and run it through powerhouses before being released back to the river -- totalling 30 kilometres with a combined generating capacity of 161 megawatts.
Company documents filed with the province propose two potential transmission corridors: one would require the construction of 66 kilometres of transmission line; the other entails 75 kilometres of transmission line, including 32 kilometres of submarine cable along the Pitt River and Pitt Lake.
Both options would require a legislative amendment to the boundaries of Pinecone Burke park to allow for the right-of-way of between 4.3 and 5.2 kilometres of transmission line.
A representative from the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office was not available on Monday, however, Kate Thompson from the Ministry of Environment said the project is now only in the very early stages.
"They are in pre-application . . . . It's very early days for them," said Thompson, explaining the project will have to go through public consultation, environmental certification and a variety of other processes before being eligible for approval.
Northwest Cascade is a wholly owned subsidiary of Run of River Power Inc., a director of which is Scott Paterson, deposed head of Yorkton Securities and former vice-chairman of the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Run of River Power also operates a 7.6-megawatt power plant above Brandywine Falls south of Whistler.
The company proposes a "clean, green, renewable" energy project that would utilize the flow of eight creeks -- Bucklin, Steve, Pinecone, Homer, Boise, Shale, Corbold, and East Corbold -- in the remote upper Pitt River Valley about 35 kilometres north of Pitt Meadows.
Dan Gerak, an award-winning environmentalist and owner of Pitt River Lodge fly-fishing resort, called the company's proposal an environmental disaster for the wilderness area.
"They make it look like green power," he said in interview. "But these things are massive."
Dolly Varden, bull trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, steelhead, and five species of salmon live in the upper Pitt River, along with species at risk such as marble murrelet, peregrine falcon, northern goshawk, and northern spotted owl.
Gwen Barlee of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee added companies have staked out about 500 streams around the province for similar power projects with no provincial assessment of cumulative impact.
"We'll look back in 15 to 20 years and say, 'How the hell did we give away hundreds of public rivers to private corporations?'" she said. "These companies don't have the public interest in mind. This is not about green power for them, this is about money."
Jako Krushnisky, president and chief executive officer of Run of River Power, said in response from his Delta office that development of the upper Pitt hydro projects could be done without jeopardizing fish stocks and that infrastructure would be relatively small given the valley's size.
He added that while "99 per cent" of the public would not want to see transmission lines running through a provincial park, he feels Pinecone Burke is a good candidate because it receives little use.
The BC Parks website describes the 38,000-hectare park as a "wilderness area protecting old-growth forests, numerous alpine lakes, rugged terrain, and remnant icefields."
Gerak said he sat on committees for three years leading to creation of the park and is flabbergasted that now "along comes a stock promoter who thinks the boundaries should be changed."
Yorkton Securities fired Paterson in 2001 after a conflict-of-interest investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission, which barred him from serving as a director or owner of a securities company for two years and prohibited him from stock trading in Canada for six months. Yorkton Securities and Paterson agreed to "voluntary payments" of $2.25 million for acting "contrary to the public interest."
Krushnisky said Paterson has no day-to-day dealings with the Pitt project, but that he liked the idea of being associated with renewable energy and helped raise funds for the venture.
Run of River Power hopes to get environment assessment approval next summer to develop the $330-million project between 2009 and 2015, with construction of temporary lodging for workers in the upper Pitt.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Posted by Arthur Caldicott on 26 Sep 2007