posted on June 03, 2010 09:07
Members of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) board and staff issued some cautions and concerns to two groups of proposed hydroelectric power projects when representatives spoke to the board at Monday’s (May 17) regular meeting.
Electoral Area C Director Susie Gimse told proponents for the three run-of-river projects being put forward as the Upper Lillooet Cluster Project that their consideration of running a 72-kilometre transmission line to an interconnection point at Rutherford Creek will be “highly controversial.”
The route for the proposed 230-kilovolt line hasn’t been finalized yet, with further evaluation expected this summer, according to project representatives. But Gimse said she expects “interesting times” ahead in discussion of the proposal, and added that officials had hoped the transmission routes would head north.
“Bringing this transmission line down the Pemberton Valley is highly controversial. You will be met with a lot of opposition,” Gimse said, adding, “You already know that.”
The Upper Lillooet Cluster Project involves three proposed hydroelectric facilities on the Upper Lillooet River, Boulder (Pebble) Creek and North Creek, with the Lillooet River project intended to be the largest of the three at 74 megawatts and the trio totaling 113 mw. Creek Power is the developer behind the projects, and Innergex Renewable Energy and Ledcor Power Group are the company’s shareholders in a 66 2/3 to 33 1/3 per cent split.
B.C. Hydro awarded three electricity purchase agreements to Creek Power in March for the projects, which are expected to be located between 38 and 70 km northwest of Pemberton.
Natalie Closs, project manager with Innergex, explained to the board which studies are being conducted for the project, and which permits and consultations are being pursued. In an email to The Question, Closs said the last part of the proposed transmission line route “is very similar to the route proposed by the Ryan River Hydro Project.”
Near the Ryan River, the transmission line would go up away from the valley bottom and Pemberton, south over ridges to Rutherford Creek and then follow the Rutherford to the interconnection spot near the existing power project, Closs wrote.
Questioned by Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy about studies of cumulative impacts, Closs said the proponents have committed to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) that they will review cumulative effects.
“We’re in the very early stages of development right now,” Closs told the board, adding that the proponents recently submitted the final project description for the cluster to the B.C. EAO. A May 7 letter to the SLRD from Liz Scroggins, community liaison for the cluster project, said Creek Power is beginning stakeholder engagement.
Steven Olmstead, the SLRD’s director of planning and development, also raised concerns about potential impacts for Keyhole Falls, which is on the Upper Lillooet River.
Closs said the proponents know their intake structure is above the falls and consultations will need to be done. But she added that it is in an area where all resource uses are permitted, as identified by the Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan.
Gimse said that Keyhole Falls is a jewel, and some years ago, a person sent her a photo of the falls asking to ensure the site is protected. The person was an independent power producer, she said.
In her email to The Question, Closs said impacts to Keyhole Falls will be assessed, “at a minimum,” through an Aboriginal Interest and Use Study that has been initiated through consultation with the Lil’wat Nation – as the Lil’wat identify the area as a spiritual ground – as well as visual assessment of flow of the falls at different times of year and a recreational assessment for the project.
“It is possible to mitigate impacts — for example, we may release additional flow at certain times of the year that the area is used for tourism activities (similar to Ashlu where flows are released for kayakers),” Closs wrote.
SLRD Area A Director and Board Chair Russ Oakley raised concerns of his own when the board heard from proponents and consultants working with the Rupert Peace Power Corp., which is pursuing three projects on the Hurley River as the Hurley Watershed Hydro Project. The projects are anticipated to have a combined capacity of 18 megawatts and projected interconnection at the Lajoie Dam.
Distillery appeal endorsed
The SLRD board decided to back the Pemberton Distillery and B.C. Artisan Distillers Guild in a call for changes to policies of the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB). A May 16 letter from Tyler Schramm, CEO and master distiller of the potato-vodka-producing business, said the eight artisan distilleries in B.C. “are fighting an uphill battle due to the B.C. LDB’s outdated distribution and mark-up policies for spirits.”
Schramm asks for a letter of support from the SLRD for policy changes that artisan distillers think would help create “a successful distilling industry in B.C.” while increasing value for agriculture and agri-tourism in communities.
Schramm told The Question that the B.C. LDB policies treat spirits differently than beer and wine, with measures such as not allowing the distillers to sell directly to buyers such as local restaurants. He said he’s hoping for changes that can help the “young and growing” industry without costing the government money.
Gimse and Sturdy said they wanted to back the Pemberton Distillery and the request for changes, and the board voted to send a letter of support. Schramm’s letter said the artisan distillers’ guild is hosting a tasting event with 50 B.C. MLAs, including West Vancouver-Sea to Sky representative Joan McIntyre, on May 31
Megan Grittani-Livingston mlivingston@whistlerquestion.com