Upper Pitt River: Pinecone Burke
Upper Pitt River. Photo: WC files.
Graph of a “typical” run-of-river hydro project. Soren Henrich drawing. Courtesy Watershed Watch Salmon Society. You can
download their full report here
Located just 40 kilometers northeast of Vancouver the upper Pitt River Valley is a spectacular watershed found in the heart of the Katzie First Nations traditional territory. Boasting wolverines, grizzlies, marbled murrelets, wolves, mountain goats and elk within the Valley, this scenic area also hosts a tremendous diversity of fish including cutthroat trout, Dolley Varden, bull trout, steelhead and all five species of Pacific salmon. It supports the largest population of wild coho remaining in the entire lower Fraser River.
One of BC’s most endangered rivers, the Upper Pitt River Valley is under threat from the proposed development of a large hydro project. The proponent, Northwest Cascade Power, Inc. intends to divert water from every major tributary of the Upper Pitt River. Four of the eight creek diversions would result in direct loss of habitat for ocean-migrating wild salmon. Boise Creek, one of the creeks to be diverted, is home to a unique Dolley Varden-bull trout hybrid found nowhere else in the world.
Accompanying the powerhouses would be blasting, road building, dam construction and kilometers of transmission lines and pipelines. One of the most disturbing aspects of this proposal is the plan to construct a precedent-setting transmission line in Pinecone Burke, a Class A Provincial Park, to the west of the Pitt River Valley. The proposed transmission line would be built in one of only two areas identified in the Valley as grizzly bear habitat. It would also disturb sensitive wetlands and could interfere with the movement of large mammals that live in the protected wilderness in neighbouring Garibaldi Park and southern protected areas in Pinecone Burke and the Coquitlam drinking watershed.
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Ashlu CreekIn the mountainous Sea-to-Sky region of British Columbia, seven new private hydropower projects are already in operation. Astoundingly, with no regional planning or public oversight there are proposals for an additional 60 private power projects between Lions Bay and Pemberton. One of the most contentious projects is the large Ledcor development on Ashlu Creek. The Ashlu is renowned for its tremendous scenic and recreational values including world-class kayaking opportunities in its unique “box canyon”. Home to a threatened population of grizzly bears, there are also bald eagles, black bears, jays and owls populating the watershed. In the Ashlu’s lower reaches salmon spawn in the cool clear water. Due to its important ecological and recreational values, in 2004 a provincially sanctioned Land Use Plan, the Sea-to-Sky Land Management Plan, recommended the Ashlu be off limits to private power production. Similarily, in 2005 the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) voted against the Ashlu project, based on the results of three public hearings and four open houses. Surprisingly, in response to the Regional District’s refusal to allow a power project on the Ashlu the BC government arbitrarily introduced “Bill 30”. The Bill not only over-rode the SLRD, it removed the zoning ability of all local governments Province-wide to stop private power projects. |
Box Canyon on the Ashlu. Photo: Todd Gillman.
BC’s wild rivers are at risk through the onslaught of poorly-regulated private power projects. Goat River.
Photo: Jeremy Sean Williams.
River-diversion pipe at Marion Creek Power Project (between Port Alberni and Tofino).
East Toba/Montrose
Located north of Powell River, the proposed $550 million East Toba and Montrose Creek power projects are just the first of 31 private sector projects, coined the “green power corridor,” proposed for this remote area. The Montrose and East Toba are large projects with a combined capacity of 196 megawatts, making them the two largest private hydro facilities in BC. Due to their remote location on the Sunshine Coast, the two projects, which have enough capacity to light 75,000 homes, will require over 60 kilometers of access roads, 11 bridges and a 145 kilometer transmission line. Accompanying this transportation grid is a 200-man construction camp and airstrip. Construction has already begun on Montrose and East Toba and environmental assessments are currently being finalized for three further projects in the Upper Toba Valley.
Plutonic Power Corp is the corporation behind this ambitious project. The company which, 18 months ago had “no track record in the electricity-generation business,” recently secured a $100 million partnership with General Electric with arrangements for a “further $450 million infusion from a syndicate of insurance companies,” making it a very powerful player in the private power business in BC.11
Plutonic has also been strategic with appointments to its senior management team. Over the past two years it has hired key employees from BC Hydro and the Provincial government and secured individuals well connected to the BC Liberals, including Premier Campbell’s former Deputy Chief of Staff for policy coordination and issues management. 12
Glacier/Howser - Kootenays
Located just north of Kaslo in the heart of the Kootenays, the proposed 125 MW Glacier/Howser hydro project would divert up to 80 percent of the mean annual flow from Glacier, Howser, Birnam, Behrman and Suck Creeks into 16 kilometers of tunnels and pipes that will be drilled through adjacent mountains. Unlike most other projects, rather than returning the water downstream to the original creek beds, it would be diverted directly into the Duncan Reservoir. Biologists are concerned local fish populations, including endangered bull trout, and vital riparian areas will be negatively affected.
Surprisingly, Axor, the project’s proponent, has already secured an Energy Purchase Agreement from BC Hydro despite the fact that the proposal has yet to undergo a federal or provincial environmental review process.
To connect the power generated to the BC transmission grid Axor is proposing to construct 91.5 kilometers of new transmission lines, which would be built across the Purcell Mountain range from the West to the East Kootenays. The proposed transmission line, ranging in a cleared right-of-way from 25-100 meters, will bisect numerous protected forest reserves, old growth forests and other areas of pristine wilderness. The Purcell Mountains are renowned for their rich wildlife including wolves, mountain goats, wolverines and threatened populations of mountain caribou and grizzly bears. Additionally, there are serious concerns that roads required during the construction phase for the transmission line will increase threats to wildlife by giving ATV access to previously pristine areas.
