B.C. is awash in proposed megaprojects these days, and public hearings are about to begin on one of the biggest and most controversial of them all.
I’m referring to the proposed Site C dam on the Peace River in the northeast corner of the province. A joint federal-provincial review panel will conduct the hearings, which begin Monday in Fort St. John.
And Site C is not really a “new” project, since it’s theoretically been on the books since the 1970s. In fact, there were 18 months of public hearings on the project in the early 1980s and the B.C. Utilities Commission concluded it shouldn’t proceed at that time.
But Site C has never disappeared from B.C. Hydro’s planning process. In fact, the utility has already spent more than $250 million in recent years on the project (for consultation, design work etc.) without it actually getting any kind of approval to begin construction.
The B.C. Liberal government has clearly signalled it favors building the dam, and there’s little doubt the federal government also backs the idea. The B.C. government has also removed an important obstacle to the dam’s construction: this time around, the project will not be scrutinized by the B.C. Utilities Commission.
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To call Site C a “megaproject” doesn’t quite capture its magnitude. First, there’s the price: at least $8 billion, and probably a lot more (projects of this size tend to go well over budget, and without the utilities commission keeping an eye on this, this one could quickly spiral out of control financially).
The dam itself is huge. It will have 1,100 megawatts capacity and will generate 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity a year. That translates to providing power for 450,000 homes annually.
There is no doubt the project would be a big-time economic generator. B.C. Hydro estimates it would create 10,000 jobs during the construction phase, and more than 30,000 jobs through all stages of development.
But dams are frequently controversial, and Site C is no exception. B.C.’s network of hydroelectric dams is now viewed as a visionary stroke of genius by former B.C. Premier W.A.C Bennett, who first came up the plan to first dam the Peace River.
The dams generate clean, green and (relatively) cheap electrical power and are the envy of the world. But when they were first built, they were seen by many as blights upon the earth, as they flooded millions of acres of farmland and displaced some rural communities.
And now the same voices of concern are being raised regarding Site C. Once again, the dam would flood a lot of farmland, some of it considered quite valuable. And some First Nations will no doubt oppose its construction.
There’s also some dispute whether the energy that would be created by Site C would be needed anytime soon.
However, there are signs those in favor of giving the dam the green light – a who’s who of the business community – have an organized campaign aimed at persuading the joint review panel to do just that and allow Site C to proceed.
The environmental movement has done an effective job – so far – of vilifying the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and it is also starting to zero in on the Kinder Morgan pipeline as well.
Can it demonize the Site C dam in the same manor? I suspect it will be a more challenging task than targeting those pipelines.
Public opinion seems to be on the side that some things have to get built, and saying “no” to everything simply isn’t an option. That was the message the B.C. Liberals carried into the last election, and the voters backed them.
The hearings on Site C should wrap up in January, with a decision from the panel expected some time next year. Given government support for the project, and the support it will get from various business interests, I suspect the odds favour its construction – more than a half century since the location of the dam was first pinpointed.
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