Damien Gillis' Op-ed on the BCUC ruling: The gig (abyte) is up for private power

Excerpt: "The BCUC's recent ruling on the proposed energy and acquisition plan from BC Hydro, our public power utility, did three main things:

"1. It wholeheartedly approved of BC Hydro's plan to continue upgrading our public energy system, making it more efficient - a good environmental and economic investment for B.C.

"2. It applauded BC Hydro's conservation ambitions but demanded it go much further, providing it with considerable resources to do so.

"3. It said "no" to plans to buy another batch of expensive private river and wind power from the likes of General Electric and Plutonic power (this includes the duo's largest proposed project in nearby Bute Inlet, which we estimate would carry an approx. $20 billion contract all on its own, to be paid for by you and me through astronomical future power bills). The regulator determined BC Hydro had not demonstrated a need for the power and that it was not in the public interest. This backs up our position that the government and industry have been misleading the public about our true energy needs, confirmed by data from StatsCan and the National Energy Board."

And the Courier-Islander's own editorial on the same subject: Shockingly dishonest

Excerpt: "The BCUC said basically the province doesn't need the power that Independent Power Projects would produce if they were given access to projects such as run the river hydro facilities.

"The commission's ruling immediately verified the claims of opponents to run of river projects, who have said all along that British Columbia doesn't need the power."

Article by Mark Hume in the Globe and Mail: Kibosh on province's clean-energy call fuelled by logic

Excerpt: "The commission's ruling made it clear, however, that there is no energy crisis - and that when there are energy shortfalls, such as during droughts or the period of peak demand in December, BC Hydro has a solid backup system in the Burrard Generating Station, an old, mostly idle plant fuelled by natural gas.

"The ruling sent a shock wave through the IPP market, especially when Dow Jones reported BC Hydro would likely put its entire clean-energy call on hold."

Press release from the Peace Valley Environment Association:

Fort St. John, BC – Terrific winds and rain on Friday night that brought down power lines and stranded campers did not deter over 400 people, 146 boats and over 300 paddlers, from enjoying a sunny day in the fourth annual Paddle for the Peace Saturday, July 11th. Roland Willson, Chief of the West Moberly First Nations, said “With all the torrential downpours we had, it [the sun shining throughout the paddle] was like a miracle or something. It was as though we were blessed.” This joint project between the West Moberly First Nations and the Peace Valley Environment Association (PVEA), is a celebration of the Peace River. It allows people to express their love of the river and their concern over the proposed Site C dam.

Beginning in 2006, the 2009 event has grown into a festival. The day began with a pancake breakfast at Bear Flat hosted by the West Moberly First Nations. Onshore fun for the whole family included face painting, games for the kids and musical entertainment by folk band “Miss Quincy.” Another highlight was a raft constructed and paddled by the Bedaux Cowboys. Charles Bedaux’s “Champagne Safari” gave precious work to local cowboys during the Depression 75 years ago. These cowboys, related to the ones joining the 1934 expedition, highlighted the historical importance of the region. A paddler from the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative also came to support the shared goal of preserving the integrity of this important wildlife corridor.

The trip began with a prayer from West Moberly Elder Max Desjarlais at the Boon farm, and continued through the serene wilderness of the Peace River Valley to the community of Old Fort just below the proposed dam site. The 3-4 hour trip, through the proposed flood reserve, showcased the beauty of the Peace and some of what would be lost if Site C were to proceed. Planning is already underway for next year’s Paddle for the Peace.

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Contact Sandra Hoffmann at savingthepeace AT gmail.com

Heading South, that’s where BC rivers are heading, straight into the arms of both US and Canadian corporate control. And gleefully riding the US bound river rapids sits our BC premier who never met a crooked privatizing scheme he didn’t like. And, I might add, riding the crest of his waves not far behind is one of his relatively newly recruited but prized enablers of BC public give-aways: the much admired and prominent environmentalist Tzeporah Berman.

And she’s on record. Ms. Berman has publicly stated she thinks the privatizing of BC rivers through the Run of the River projects is a good idea. Why would this poster child for the Clayoquot Sound blockades lend her name and prestige to such a vicious thing as signing off our public river power to private control? In frustration I tuned to an old issue of DOGWOOD INITITIVE (2002) to an article by Denise Deegan (written for corporations) called Managing Activism: A Guide to Dealing with Activists and Pressure Groups:

“First identify the “radicals” who are unwilling to compromise and who are demanding fundamental changes. Then, identify the “realists”-typically organizations with significant budgets and staff working in the same relative area of public concern as the radicals. Then approach these “realists,” start a dialogue and eventually cut a deal, a “win,win” solution that marginalizes and excludes the radicals and their demands. Next go with the realists to the “idealists” who have learned about the problem through the work of the radicals. Convince the idealists that a “win-win” solution indorsed by the realists is best for the community as a whole. Once this has been accomplished, the “radicals” can be shut out as extremist, the PR fix is in, and the deal can be touted in the media to make the corporation and its “moderate” non-profit partners look heroic for solving the problem”.

And this strategy has worked. In these past years most of us “radicals” have been shut out as the “realists” and the “idealists” have made questionable, supposed “win, win” deals with the Gordon Campbell government and corporations. Only the problems haven’t been solved and there are now serious splits in what little environmental activism there was out there. However, I remain optimistic and believe these splits could be setting the stage for a real environmental movement…one that engages not just a lofty few who think themselves special and rather intellectually superior but masses of people, many who haven’t the faintest idea how bio systems actually work but know that they do work and desperately want them to keep on working. So we’ll see.

Betty Krawczyk's blog: http://bettysearlyedition.blogspot.com/

Press Release from the Save Our Rivers Society:

In a submission to the provincial government's Integrated Land Management Bureau, the Save-The-Cedar League, a registered charity based in Crescent Spur, BC, has characterized the Morkill River Independent Power Plant Proposal as “riddled with exaggerations, missing information, self-serving statements, and falsities.”

According to the science-based conservation organization, the Robson Valley Power Corporation's (RVPC) Morkill Management Plan "proposes destruction of Morkill Falls, destruction of salmon, blue-listed bull trout and other fish habitat, destruction of sustainable ecotourism economies and opportunities, local extermination of endangered mountain caribou, at-risk grizzly bear and several other listed species. It also proposes destruction of a globally unique rainforest wilderness and its rare biodiversity.” The complete text of the submission is here.

Principal points made in the submission:

• RVPC's plans are to dry up the Morkill Falls and the river beneath the falls. This will destroy critical spawning and rearing habitat for Chinook salmon, bull trout, and many other fish species. This will, in turn, remove an important food source for grizzly bears in the area.

• The study of fish populations presented by RVPC is obviously inadequate.

• The Morkill Watershed is the only known watershed in Canada where three recognized endangered or threatened woodland caribou subpopulations have their last stronghold.

• The same woodland caribou will also be adversely affected by opening the area up to snowmobilers with 50 km of power lines.

• The RVPC application ignores a recommendation for a ten-year moratorium from further logging of cedar-hemlock in the world's only inland temperate rainforest by the provincial government's Forest Practices Board.

In the words of Dr. Rick Zammuto, an Interdisciplinary Ecologist and Executive Director of the Save-The-Cedar League, "Morkill Falls is officially designated as a Special Feature Recreation Map Reserve in the Robson Valley LRMP because of its high tourism and recreational value. Wilderness ecotourism businesses of two local communities will suffer significant financial loss if the RVPC proposal is allowed to proceed in the IPP process by government."

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Public purchase orders issued to private power licensees to date will cost British Columbians more than $30 billion dollars. A number expected to climb dramatically.

BC’s public rivers and public rights are being abused as is the public electric utility.

British Columbians are guaranteeing the costs of completely unnecessary private power developments while lucky licensees reap forty years of publicly guaranteed profits.

Behind a veil of confidentiality BC’s public utility is continuing to issue forty year contracts to buy electricity from license holders possibly appointed by the Premier. Inclusive of green credits and upcoming carbon offsets the public pays $120.00 for a megawatt of electricity made from private facilities built with public money based on free energy sources that yield no public benefits.

Private river power from BC, as it is sold to the US, will fall under US energy security rules and the people of BC will be left without recourse. Generations of British Columbians will shoulder compound losses occurring through losing control of rivers and access to water and watersheds which are being devastated today by private river power projects without public or First Nations consultation although a few exceptions do exist.

The Robson Valley Power Corporation has filed an application for a river privatization project on Morkill Falls in the Robson Valley. You can view the preliminary project description by clicking here (92-page PDF).

Comments on this application are being accepted up to June 30. You can submit comments by clicking here. No environmental assessment is required because the project is under 50 MW.

The Morkill River IPP Management Plan proposes a dam design that the manufacturer admits has failed in icy waters several times in the same Management Plan.  This problematic dam is being proposed for one of the most frozen rivers in North America.  However, no explanation for this serious contradiction is offered for residents of our communities living downstream from the proposed dam site who will be flooded out and perhaps killed when the icy waters cause the storage pond to rush down river.

Scientists know that the Morkill Watershed is the only watershed in Canada where three federally-provincially recognized endangered or threatened mountain caribou subpopulations have their last stronghold.  The Caribou depend on the unique habitat that is proposed to be cut down for the 50 km of power lines in the Morkill River IPP Management Plan.  Instead, the Management Plan falsely claims that no caribou were present for 15 years, opposing much scientific data to the contrary, too voluminous to post here. 

The proponent uses his false "data" to boldly plan to log off official Mt. Caribou Reserves and to log and road within 2 km of several others that are legislated for no logging or roads under FRPA.  Additionally, several Spatial Old Growth Management Areas designed to protect the world's only Inland Temperate Rainforest that are also legislated for no logging or roads are not even mentioned in the Management Plan yet are planned for obliteration by the proponent's power plant, power lines, and accompanying road development.

The fisheries report claims no evidence of salmon or blue-listed bull trout spawning yet contradictorily also reports electro-shocked young Chinook Salmon and young bull trout at the proposed location of the dam site.  The fisheries report tries to claim the electro-shocked came from the downstream Forget-Me-Not Creek, but provides absolutely no evidence.  Applicant Blagborne and the fisheries report completely ignore all the people that told Blagborne that salmon and bull trout have spawned and reared at Morkill Falls for more than 20 years. 

Additionally, the Management Plan diagrams show that the proponent will dry up ALL of the critical salmon and blue-listed bull trout spawning and rearing habitat beneath the Morkill Falls, even though the fisheries report documents salmon and bull trout were electro-shocked in the same locations that are to be destroyed.

The Morkill River IPP Management Plan falsely claims majority support for the project from the local communities of Crescent Spur-Loos when in fact almost every member of both communities and the Crescent Spur-Loos Community Association signed a petition letter to stop the project.

Article by Gordon Hoekstra in the Prince George Citizen: Running on the river

Article by Colleen Kimmett in The Tyee: Libs' River Power Push: Dangers, but Little Data

Quote from biologist Rachel Holt: "[Environmental assessments] lack rigour because of the dearth of environmental laws, for instance, to protect species. The environmental assessment process also does not assess cumulative impacts at all."

Article by Colleen Kimmett in The Tyee: Private power a social justice issue: Council of Canadians

Excerpt: "Dozens of organizations across the province have signed a letter opposing run of river projects in British Columbia, casting a social rights lens on issue that has been all about the environment.

"There are 61 signatories so far that represent a variety of interests. They include, not just the unions and conservation groups that have already emerged as vocal opponents, but also faith-based and social justice groups like the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy and St. James Anglican Church."

Click  here to view the press release.

Story by Geoff Dembicki in The Tyee: BC Libs zapped regs for private power, doc shows 

The river privatization companies like Plutonic Power are lying when they talk about the regulatory framework that they deal with. Quote from Joe Foy of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee: “Behind the scenes, we can see in the language of this thing how the Ministry of Environment seems to be mostly concerned with keeping the private power guys happy.”