VANCOUVER – Citizens and stakeholders are gathering this week in the Pemberton Valley, at two public open houses regarding the privately-owned Upper Lillooet Hydro proposal. As the project’s public comment period continues, the Wilderness Committee is reiterating the need for a moratorium on all private power producer developments in British Columbia.

The proposed Upper Lillooet project, owned by joint partners Innergex and Ledcor, aims to develop three hydroelectric facilities located on the Upper Lillooet River, Boulder (Pebble) Creek and North Creek. This cluster of projects risks serious impacts on fish populations in the river and tributaries, and would also drastically change the flow of the region’s iconic Keyhole Falls.

The Upper Lillooet River is an important habitat for coho and Chinook salmon, as well as cutthroat and bull trout. The project will also impact more than a half-dozen Species at Risk.

Wilderness Committee Policy Director Gwen Barlee will be in attendance to voice concerns about the project at two open house events being held this week—from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, July 9 in Mount Currie and Tuesday, July 10 in Pemberton.

“Private river diversion projects like the Upper Lillooet are increasingly popping up around key wildlife and fish habitat, in places where they were never supposed to be developed,” said Barlee.

“This project poses an unnecessary risk to our province’s fragile river ecosystems. The power it would provide is extremely expensive, and it’s clearly not needed to meet BC’s energy demands,” she said.

Private power projects across BC have been criticized for lack of planning and low environmental standards, as well as their financial drain on BC Hydro. In addition, reports show that Innergex-owned projects have a history of environmental non-compliance issues.