An independent legal review of the environmental regulation of private hydropower projects in BC shows the projects are beset by low environmental standards, reduced regulatory thresholds, and ineffective monitoring and compliance.

The legal opinion prepared by Devlin Gailus, a Victoria law firm, was prepared for the Wilderness Committee and the BC Creek Protection Society.
 
“The surprising thing about this legal review is just how weak environmental regulations for private power projects are in BC. Over the past 10 years this government has repealed environmental laws, repeatedly gutted the Ministry of Environment staffing, and removed long-standing safeguards. This legal opinion documents in painstaking detail the massive chasm between what is actually happening to BC rivers and the government’s ridiculous claim that we have some of the toughest environmental regulations in the world,” said Gwen Barlee, policy director with the Wilderness Committee.

The independent report reviewed 11 provincial laws and four federal laws that govern environmental regulation of private run-of-river hydropower projects in BC. The report found that, “the current regulatory regime does not afford adequate environmental protection in the context of run-of-river development in BC.”

“The report clearly shows the truth about the laws dealing with the environmental issues that arise with run-of-river development. The whole permitting procedure is just a rubberstamping exercise without any meaningful outcome in regards of environmental protection,” said Jakub Drnec of the BC Creek Protection Society.

The report was commissioned to examine claims made by the BC government and private power industry that environmental standards in BC are world-class and that projects were subject to numerous, and rigorous, environmental approvals.

“This report shows that the environmental regulatory system in BC is bankrupt. We already know the BC government doesn’t have enough staff to enforce existing environmental laws, but now we find out that environmental regulations are so weak and ineffective that even if they were enforced, our rivers and streams would still be at grave risk from private power projects,” said Barlee.

“Regulations which don’t safeguard the environment are just pieces of paper. The BC government’s boast that our environmental laws are world class is so far from the truth, it is laughable,” said Drnec.

For more information please contact:

Gwen Barlee, Policy Director Wilderness Committee, 604-202-0322 (c) or 604-683-8220
Jakub Drnec, BC Creek Protection Society, 250-208-6468

The independent legal review “Testing the Waters­A Review of Environmental Regulation of Run of River Power Projects in British Columbia” can be found here.