Photo: Recently completed Ashlu River private hydro power project has dammed and diverted the river, reducing the water flow to a fraction of what it once was.

The throne speech maps out a path to lower environmental standards and a gold-rush mentality, say environmental groups.

"The spectre of an environmental-assessment regime whose governing criteria are speed and money is cause for deep concern," said George Heyman, executive director of the Sierra Club B.C.

A major concern is the province's announcement that it wants amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to create a unified federal-provincial environmental review process, instead of individual reviews of projects.

Heyman said the group doesn't oppose a cost-effective or efficient review process. "But, along with most British Columbians, we believe that the most important criteria must always be thoroughness of the review."

Federal input is welcomed in contentious proposals because the province dramatically lowered environmental standards in 2002 and is continuing to lower standards, he said.

The throne speech set out a one-project, one-process approach with reviews that are "timely, diligent and science-based."

Gwen Barlee of the Wilderness Committee was critical of the throne speech emphasis on private power production and electricity exports.

"Allowing corporations like General Electric to put our rivers into pipes to export power to California may be good for their bottom lines, but it's bad for our rivers and the people of B.C.," Barlee said.

"Now we are being told the new criteria for the environmental assessment regime is speed and money for the benefit of the private power corporations. This is a recipe for public outrage."

Most environmental announcements in the throne speech emphasize a rush to approval, even when there are clear indications of threats to fish or endangered species, Heyman said.