Site C dam environmental assessment is complete
News1130
FORT ST JOHN (NEWS1130) – A critical report into the future of a megaproject that would create jobs but also flood a large area of the Peace River Region is now in the hands of our provincial leaders.
The Joint Review Panel has now completed its assessment. The contents of the report have not yet been made public.
The dam would flood 3,000 hectares of farmland, and would cost close to $8 billion to build.
BC Hydro insists the dam is needed to meet our future electricity needs. But it’s a project that doesn’t have the support of the region’s First Nations, farmers and environmentalists. And it has yet to gain full backing from the City of Fort St. John, the closest city to the proposed dam.
First Nations argue the flooding would cause the loss of habitat for deer and elk and the loss of native heritage sites.
Environmentalists such as Joe Foy with the Wilderness Committee take issue with electricity-consumption projections.
“Individual residential use is going down. We are bringing in new technology that uses less electricity, like LED lights in homes, energy-efficient computers and TV sets,” Foy explains.
He fears the project will mean higher hydro rates.
“That’s going to be very expensive. To buy a huge electrical production facility that we don’t need means that someone’s going to have to pay for it. That’s you and me.”
Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman says concerns linger about how BC Hydro will help the city deal with the influx of workers, particularly from a 500-person camp on their side of the Peace River and a 1,200-person camp on the other side of the river.
“We are talking about social impacts on our recreation, transportation, water system, health services, and RCMP,” she says.
Even the local business community is torn on the issue, as the Fort St John Chamber of Commerce has decided to stay neutral on the topic.
The dam would flood about 85 kilometres of the Peace River plus 10 kilometres of the Moberly River and 14 kilometres of the Halfway River.
The provincial cabinet will have six months to make a decision on the project.
