Taking action to protect our rivers
In 2002 the provincial government banned BC Hydro, our profitable publicly-owned crown corporation, from developing new sources of green power, decreeing that all new hydropower must come from the private sector. This led to a gold rush mentality, with private corporations staking over 500 creeks and rivers throughout BC for Private Power Projects (also known as Independent Power Projects, or IPPs).
Private power projects leave the control of one our most vital natural resources, rivers and the hydroelectricity they produce, in the hands of for-profit developers.
The burden of numerous private hydropower projects on the landscape means they cannot be called ‘green’ power. A typical project requires river diversion, dams, logging, powerhouses, and many kilometers of roads and transmission lines. Astoundingly, the BC Government approaches each project as a “one-off,” not assessing the cumulative impact of multiple projects on the landscape. The government also tried to muzzle local communities, by passing Bill 30, which prevents local governments from saying ‘no’ to private power projects.
The Wilderness Committee says that Hydro power in B.C. must be regionally planned, environmentally appropriate and publicly owned.
Send a strong message to your government!
Contact us at 604-683-8220 to order one, five, or a hundred mail-in cards to distribute in your community.
