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Stand up for Bute Inlet
Plutonic Power, in partnership with US corporate giant General Electric, is proposing to construct an enormous 1027 megawatt private hydropower project in Bute Inlet, the largest proposed private power project in the province.
The proposed project would involve building 17 separate dams and river diversions in the South Gate and Homathko watersheds, each with separate generating facilities; over 440 km of power lines; over 250 km of roads; and over 100 bridges.
The area encompasses mountain goat, marbled murrelet and grizzly bear habitat, and is home to 23 varieties of fish, including all 5 major types of Pacific salmon.
The public has a limited time to speak up and stop this project.
The BC government has started a gold rush amongst private corporations, who are staking our public streams and rivers for their private power production, even though this power is not needed and expensive to purchase. Over 600 rivers have already been staked by private companies province-wide.
You can make a difference
Please write to Premier Campbell to let him know how you feel about this private hydropower project’s impacts:
Honourable Gordon Campbell,
West Annex, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
Phone: 250-387-1715
Fax: 250-387-0087
Email: premier@gov.bc.ca
Send copies to:
Honourable Barry Penner (Minister of the Environment): env.minister@gov.bc.ca
Kathy Eichenberger, Environmental Assessment Office: eaoinfo@gov.bc.ca
Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast: nicholas.simons.mla@leg.bc.ca
Claire Trevena, MLA for North Island: claire.trevena.mla@leg.bc.ca
The Powel River Peak: editor@prpeak.com
The Coast Reporter: editor@coastreporter.net
The Campbell River Mirror: editor@campbellrivermirror.com
Sven Biggs, Wilderness Committee: sven@wildernesscommittee.org
8 reasons why we are concerned about this project
1. Ground zero
The coast mountains are ground zero for private hydro projects.Currently there are over 200 proposed or approved hydro developments in the area. That is more than any other provincial constituency in BC. At risk are our streams and rivers, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, the ability for communities to plan their future and our public power system.
2. Gold rush mentality
In their 2002 Energy Plan, the BC government decreed that BC Hydro, our very profitable crown corporation, could no longer develop new electricity generation. This directive started a gold rush mentality amongst the private sector resulting in over 600 BC streams and rivers being “staked” for private power development.
3. Big project, bigger impacts
Plutonic Power, in partnership with the multi-billion dollar US corporation General Electric, is proposing to construct an enormous 1027 megawatt private hydropower project in Bute Inlet, 150 km north of Powell River. The proposed project would involve building 17 separate dams, each with separate generating facilities, 440 km of power lines, over 250 km of roads, and over 100 bridges.
4. Expensive
The power being generated by private power producers is expensive and usually comes at the wrong time of the year. Typically, British Columbia needs electricity in the cold winter months when many private hydro projects can’t generate electricity because creeks and rivers are running low and unable to power turbines. Energy produced from these private power projects normally comes during late spring and early summer when it is of little value to BC, but of high value to private companies for potential export to markets such as California.
5. Bad for the environment
Most private hydropower projects involve river diversion and dramatically reduced water flows, new roads, blasting, logging, the generation of waste rock, and many kilometres of new transmission lines. Astoundingly, the BC government assesses each development as a “one-off,” without considering the cumulative impacts of numerous projects on the landscape and even more alarmingly, projects that are under 50 megawatts don’t have to undergo any environmental assessment.
6. Loss of control
In 2006, the BC government passed Bill 30 removing the right of local governments to plan and zone for private power projects. That means that the Strathcona Regional District and every other regional district in the province has had the right to plan for private power taken away by the BC government.
7. Wildlife
Bute Inlet contains habitat for many endangered animals and plants, including mountain goats, marbled murrelets, peregrine falcons, harlequin ducks and grizzly bears. The Bute watershed is home to 23 varieties of fish, including all 5 major types of salmon. Displacement and mortality of these populations, along with other significant wildlife impacts related to reduced water flow and construction activities are top-of-mind concerns if this large project goes ahead.
8. Accidents happen
Once these projects are up and running they are heavily automated with very little human oversight. As a result accidents can and have happened. One such accident happened at the EPCOR Miller Creek power project in Pemberton in September 2007. A malfunction at the plant resulted in a “critical low water” incident where the creek almost ran dry. Internal documents given to environmental organizations revealed that this incident and other environmental problems at the site lead EPCOR’s own environmental monitor to comment that the company wasn’t meeting environmental standards and wasn’t producing green energy.
There's a right way to do it
There is a right way and a wrong way to generate green power, and unfortunately, at this time in BC it is being done the wrong way. The BC government’s rush to develop private power has resulted in a chaotic situation where cumulative environmental impacts are ignored, regional planning is non-existent and local governments have been silenced.
The Wilderness Committee supports green energy that is
• regionally planned,
• environmentally appropriate,
• acceptable to First Nations and
• publicly owned.
River privatization can be stopped!
People working together can stop bad projects from damaging wild rivers. Early in 2008, hundreds of people spoke out and took action to save the Upper Pitt River from an environmentally damaging private power project. Attending meetings, writing letters and speaking to your neighbours are key ingredients to protecting our rivers. As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
