ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A Newfoundland man’s single-handed challenge of the Muskrat Falls hydro project is focusing on water management rights.
Brad Cabana, a political blogger and small businessman, alleges that various constitutional violations should halt the $7.7-billion development underway in Labrador.
He is representing himself in provincial Supreme Court in St. John’s where he is questioning a senior project manager.
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Cabana asked Gilbert Bennett, Nalcor Energy vice-president in charge of Muskrat Falls, about a water management agreement.
Cabana says changes to the provincial Electrical Power Control Act, and a subsequent water management agreement, violate Hydro-Quebec’s water flow rights on the Churchill River.
In sometimes testy exchanges, Bennett told the court that the water management agreement does not interfere with pre-existing power contracts.
Bennett says co-ordinating water flow between the Churchill Falls and Muskrat Falls plants would minimize energy waste and help avoid power shortfalls.
Cabana says he has spent more than $10,000 of his own money to challenge Muskrat Falls.
He says the project is rife with legal uncertainties that could be disastrous for the province once it’s built.
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