Site C Dam Passes Environmental Review with 50 Recommendations

A review of the proposed Site C project was released on Thursday with 50 recommendations for B.C. Hydro and government.

The third dam to be built on the Peace River has an estimated cost of $8 billion and has been at the centre of controversy for decades. The report, released by the Joint Review Panel of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, states “the benefits are clear” to build the dam. The panel goes on to report that despite the high costs and uncertainty whether the power will be needed, the long term increment of firm energy would benefit future generations.

Photo Credit: Site C Project Brochure

The report points to environmental impacts the Site C dam would have in the area. “Replacing a portion of the Peace River with an 83-kilometre reservoir would cause significant adverse effects on fish and fish habitat, and a number of birds and bats, smaller vertebrate and invertebrate species, rare plants, and sensitive ecosystems. The Project would significantly affect the current use of land and resources for traditional purposes by Aboriginal peoples, and the effect of that on Aboriginal rights and treaty rights generally will have to be weighed by governments. It would not, however, significantly affect the harvest of fish and wildlife by non-Aboriginal people. It would end agriculture on the Peace Valley bottom lands, and while that would not be significant in the context of B.C. or western Canadian agricultural production, it would highly impact the farmers who would bear the loss,” read the report summary.

Photo Credit: Site C Project Brochure

The joint review panel does address these environmental concerns in the recommendations if the provincial government moves ahead with the project. The provincial and federal government now have 120 days to announce if they will build the dam.