WHEREAS the public power strategy of creating a crown corporation BC Hydro which for over forty years produced great dividends for the people of BC, providing a secure, long-term supply of power as well as surplus electricity for export; AND WHEREAS over 600 water license and land tenure applications have been submitted to the Integrated Land Management Bureau for river diversion projects on creeks and rivers across BC, with a typical project requiring river diversion, dams, logging, powerhouses, and many kilometres of roads and transmission lines, with no requirement for environmental assessment process for projects under 50 megawatts; AND WHEREAS proposed run-of-the-river power projects do not take into consideration the various social, economic, recreational and environmental impacts that the construction and operation of a facility may have on the neighbouring areas and the region at large, and where each project is considered independently, not assessing the cumulative impact of multiple projects on the landscape; AND WHEREAS the Union of BC Indian Chiefs has called for a moratorium on private hydro development until there is assurance of transparent consultation with First Nations and a review of the terms of existing water licenses: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province take a leadership role when granting environmental permits and land tenures within British Columbia relating to the development of independent power projects by: 1. Developing, in consultation with local governments, First Nations, industry, the public and regulatory stakeholders, clear and measurable criteria by which to evaluate independent power production projects against community social, land use and environmental values and an agreed upon green energy standard for both the generation and power line components of the projects; 2. Establishing standards for transmission line development that require optimization of existing power lines infrastructure and shared use of lines as a condition of right-of-way agreements and provide regulatory authority to require shared use as a condition of licensing and recognizing and protecting scenic value zones in areas of high tourism activity; 3. Establishing an independent monitoring function to ensure accountability and enforcement of conditions and standards applied to independent power production projects.
Ministry of Energy, Mines Petroleum Resources All clean, renewable energy projects in British Columbia are subject to regulatory processes. In total, a typical run-of-river project will require more than 50 permits, licences, approvals and reviews from 14 regulatory bodies including federal and provincial agencies, local governments and First Nations. Existing federal and provincial processes assess the potential impact of proposals, including impacts on the environment, protected areas, existing land uses, recreational uses, other resource uses and First Nations asserted rights and title. The review process for projects of 50 megawatts or larger is also subject to the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act and is coordinated by British Columbias Environmental Assessment Office. Smaller projects are assessed as part of the review of permit or licence applications under specific statutes, such as the Water Act or the Land Act. A water licence application merely starts the review process. Obtaining approval for a clean, renewable energy project could take a number of years. The British Columbia Utilities Commission BCUC is undertaking an inquiry under section 5 of the Utilities Commission Act relating to British Columbias electrical transmission infrastructure and capacity needs for a 30 year period as ordered by the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. The inquiry has been in suspension, however, it is expected to resume in May or June 2010. The Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources has advised the BCUC that he will be issuing amended Terms of Reference in May 2010 for the Inquiry following the Governments review of the recommendations from the Green Energy Advisory Task Force. A new date for completing the Inquiry will be set out in the amended Terms of Reference. As part of this Inquiry, the BCUC is required to assess the generation resources in British Columbia that will potentially be developed over a 30 year period, grouped by geographic location, and to assess the most cost-effective and most probable sequence of development by geographic area of these generation resources. In making this assessment, the BCUC is required to take account of British Columbias electricity self-sufficiency and clean electricity goals. Local governments interested in participating in this Inquiry should contact the Commission Secretary at Commission.Secretarybcuc.com or by telephone at 604-660-4700. In recognition of the need to improve service delivery for compliance and enforcement activities, the Province has initiated a Provincial Compliance and Enforcement Coordination Strategy implemented in April 2009. During the recent field season in the Northwest, there was an increased Provincial Government field presence in many areas and significant effort was directed at addressing issues of highest risk to the Crown land base. Crown land tenures, managed by the Integrated Land Management Bureau, remain an important focus for new compliance and enforcement presence and coordination. Increased coordination of compliance and enforcement activities has helped identify and begin to address issues related to abandoned structures, unauthorized tenures, site contamination, waste and environmental damage.