As part of the Site C plan vast amounts of land will be flooded to create a reservoir for the dam. Naturally, this results in the loss of habitat for many species and of particular importance caribou. Today Michael discussed the governments handling of this situation with Minster Penner.
Below you will find the draft transcript of the exchange and as always the official record will be posted when available.
2010 Legislative Session: Second Session, 39th Parliament
COMMITTEE A BLUES
This is a DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY of debate in one sitting of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. This transcript is subject to corrections, and will be replaced by the final, official Hansard report. Use of this transcript, other than in the legislative precinct, is not protected by parliamentary privilege, and public attribution of any of the debate as transcribed here could entail legal liability.
DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
(HANSARD)
COMMITTEE A BLUES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010
Afternoon Sitting
CSA – 20100505 PM 006/PLP/1440
PROCEEDINGS IN THE
DOUGLAS FIR ROOM
Committee of Supply
ESTIMATES: MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT
(continued)
M. Sather: I wanted to ask the Minister of Environment a few questions about Site C. What studies were done or are being done on the ungulates — the moose, deer and elk that occupy the Peace River valley? What studies are being done? [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
[1805]
CSA – 20100505 PM 047/CLM/1805
Hon. B. Penner: I thank the member for his question.
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
The announcement, about two weeks ago now, that the government was prepared to have B.C. Hydro move to stage 3 of its review of this possible addition to B.C. Hydro’s network of power generation assets meant that B.C. Hydro is entitled to put forward a proposal to the B.C. environmental assessment office. At this point we have not yet received such an application or a proposal, so we do not have a project description, which would be one of the first steps in initiating an environmental assessment office review. We haven’t even entered the preapplication stage at this point.
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
However, if the member has reviewed some of the material that B.C. Hydro has put out over the past little while…. They issued a stage 2 report in the fall of 2009 summarizing the work that they’ve done on consultation and technical reviews of various issues. On page 76 they list some of the work that they’ve done during stage 2. I’ll just quote from the document here. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
[1810]
“During stage 2 B.C. Hydro set out to identify potential issues and characterize the current physical, biological and socioeconomic environment in the potential Site C project area. Environmental and socioeconomic studies, primarily baseline studies, were completed for the following topics: fish and aquatic habitat, vegetation and wildlife, water quality, local climate and greenhouse gas emissions, heritage, community services and infrastructure, economic, land use and resources.
“Based on this work, B.C. Hydro has built on its historic understanding of the issues and current conditions in the potential project area.”
My understanding, from talking to staff, is that there are literally volumes of reports and research that go back several decades to the 1980s when this proposal was being seriously considered at that time.
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Obviously, B.C. Hydro, it appears, has been busy updating those reports and studies. I can advise the member further that the Ministry of Environment is aware of work that was done this past winter because the Ministry of Environment was actually involved in some of it. This involved looking at fish, wildlife and biodiversity issues and potential impacts.
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
So there has been considerable work done over the past. I expect that there will be more work done as this proposal gets ready to enter the pre-application stage of review by the environmental assessment office. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
M. Sather: Well, my understanding is that B.C. Hydro is undertaking a two-year GPS collaring study of 40 elk, 40 moose and 40 deer. Is the minister not aware of that? [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Hon. B. Penner: The ministry was actively engaged this past winter in a program of collaring a significant number of large ungulates — moose, deer and elk. That was work that was funded by B.C. Hydro. If the member is interested in accessing some of the studies that I mentioned previously that were done during stage two of the review by B.C. Hydro, they are available, I’m advised, through a B.C. Hydro website.
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Some of those studies include the following: Peace River fisheries investigation; Peace River and Pine River Radio Telemetry Study 2007; and, under vegetation and wildlife, Peace River Site C Hydro Project Stage 2 Baseline Vegetation and Wildlife Report and Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping of the Peace River Study Area: Baseline Inventory Surveys 2007. Those reports are publicly available. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
M. Sather: So did the ministry staff play any active role in the B.C. Hydro project in actually doing the radio collaring? [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
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CSA – 20100505 PM 049/BJM/1815
Hon. B. Penner: It’s our understanding that the project was supervised or at least designed in part with the oversight by Ministry of Environment wildlife specialists or a specialist. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
M. Sather: I wanted to ask the minister another question about another area up there, this being Big Pine Mountain and the remnant caribou herd there — about 11 animals as I understand. This is along Williston reservoir. The minister will know that when the area was flooded, the West Moberly First Nations’ culture and food source was very much upset by the fracturing of these herds. This is the result of what happened to one of these herds.
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Now, First Coal Corporation had been clearing caribou habitat without a permit, and the West Moberly, the minister probably knows, have a longstanding dispute with the province over dealing with the after-effects of the Williston reservoir years before. They say that the province promised they would do planning for recovery of these caribou herds but that the province has not followed through.
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
My question to the minister: is this accurate? And if so, why hasn’t the province followed through? [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
[1820]
CSA – 20100505 PM 050/NML/1820
Hon. B. Penner: The member was asking if we’d done some planning around…. I think it was the northern caribou that the member was referring to? [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Interjection.
Hon. B. Penner: I believe that’s the domain of northern caribou. The member will know that we have also in the last few years put significant focus on mountain caribou. It was our intention to….
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Now that we’ve done the steps around mountain caribou in terms of the 2.2 million additional hectares of area that’s been allotted for the mountain caribou and a number of other steps that we’ve taken to put more emphasis on planning for what our staff think are northern caribou….
[DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
But we can both be right if we agree that they’re woodland caribou, as I’ve learned that the three different — what? — eco-types of caribou fall under the broad heading of woodland caribou. There are mountain caribou, northern caribou and boreal caribou, but all of them are woodland caribou — all members of the same family. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
