Sierra Club BC is calling for tighter government regulations for independent power projects after a Forest Practices Board report revealed uneven environmental standards and inadequate government oversight of run-of-river projects.
The board investigated Plutonic Power Corporation's Toba-Montrose project following a complaint from the Sierra Club and Friends of Bute Inlet. The groups were concerned about environmental impacts, government monitoring efforts and the effectiveness of consultation and project monitoring.
Toba-Montrose, which began operating in August 2010, consists of two power stations, 156 km of transmission line, 40 km of upgraded road and 22 km of new road. Earlier this year, Plutonic announced it was merging with Magnum Energy Corporation and now operates as Alterra Power Corporation.
While the board does not have authority to investigate all aspects of the complaint, it investigated logging, road building and related planning under the Forest and Range Practices Act. It found that harvesting and road building followed requirements to protect the environment, that requirements were similar to those required of forestry operations and, in some cases, were more stringent. For example, Plutonic hired an independent monitor to oversee the construction work and public involvement and consultation exceeded what is required for forestry operations.
The report, which is available at www.fpb.gov.bc.ca, included the following findings:
Plutonic chose to pay a $150,000 fee for leaving 45,000 cubic metres (about 1,100 highway logging truck loads) along the transmission line corridor, rather than incur the cost of harvesting at remote sites.
More than 100 fuel spills occurred on the project, including one of up to 900 litres.
Sedimentation of streams, including fish streams, occurred.
Thirty-six hectares were removed from old growth management areas, but the government required only one hectare to be replaced, even though Plutonic was willing to replace all of it.
The application of Forest and Range Practices Act requirements to private power producers is unclear for invasive plants, soil disturbance limits, retaining wildlife trees and restrictions on harvesting and road building in management areas next to fish streams.
Temporary roads for independent power projects do not have to be built to the same standard as those built by the forest industry.
The cumulative effects assessment for Toba-Montrose did not include previous development activity, which was consistent with limited legal requirements, but differed substantially from federal policy.
"We thought the investigation by the Forest Practices Board was thorough," said George Heyman, Sierra Club BC executive director. "We raised the complaint about Toba-Montrose because it was a complete project and we were concerned about the fact that we believe in many cases private power projects are held to a different standard of logging practice than commercial forestry operations."
The report points out that there was no coordinated approach for how and when government oversight would occur, Heyman said, or who would lead it.
"They point out that could mean serious environmental problems for future projects," he said. "Because many private power projects in future may be categorized as minor tenures, the public will remain unsure about the standards of environmental protections connected to logging and road building that will apply."
Heyman pointed out that there are about 800 applications for diverting BC rivers for private power projects outstanding. While not all of them will proceed, he said, "we need to know what the rules are and British Columbians need to know the rules are adequate."
Donald McInnes, Alterra's executive vice chairman, thanked the board for its review. "Our commitment to the community, the environment and the process is evident in our work.In the future, we will continue to work to improve the process and ultimately, the outcome," said McInnes.
