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Ashlu proposal a watershed for IPPs

Without a master plan for independent power projects communities face a showdown over each proposal

Time is quickly running out for public comment on one of the most controversial independent power projects ever proposed in the Sea to Sky corridor.

On Wednesday, Nov. 17 the Ashlu Creek IPP will face its second public hearing in Squamish, giving local kayakers, residents, First Nations and project supporters one last chance to sound off on the project before it’s put to a vote at the regional district table.

While the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has been pushing for a master plan which addresses IPP development throughout the corridor, that plan has yet to be developed. So projects are dealt with one at a time.

Meanwhile the Ashlu proponents, Ledcor Power Inc., have been moving forward gathering approvals for their project from various provincial agencies.

The SLRD board must now consider rezoning the land for the Ashlu project in the absence of a regional plan.

"We did talk about trying to defer all decisions around rezonings related to IPP development but there are some (like the Ashlu Creek) that were initiated some time ago," said SLRD Board Chair Susan Gimse. "It’s well underway and… we will be addressing it."

But she doesn’t deny that it will be a tough decision for the nine-member board, made up of the four corridor mayors and five representatives from other areas in the district.

The issues surrounding IPP development in the corridor are wide and varied and extremely contentious, particularly as the Sea to Sky area is undoubtedly the hot zone for IPP activity in the province.

Simply put, run of river projects take water from a stream, divert it into a powerhouse and then send it back into the stream after it is used to create power. The Miller, the Rutherford, the Brandywine and the Soo IPPs have all come before the Ashlu. In fact, there are 13 projects in the Sea to Sky area, seven of which are already operating.

It is doubtful the Ashlu will be the last of proposed IPP projects in the area, with water license applications in place for roughly 60 more projects.

"I imagine we’ll see some more coming forward," said Gimse. "Clearly what needs to happen is we need sit down with all of the stakeholders and develop an overall master plan that looks at ensuring community interests, recreation, historic values, social and environmental values are being addressed."

NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard

The merits of green power are difficult to refute. At the same time, there are concerns from residents and kayakers in the corridor that putting power projects, green or otherwise, on corridor creeks could adversely affect tourism, recreation and more localized environmental concerns, such as disturbing fish habitat.

IPP proponents say their projects are clean, renewable sources of energy, needed to meet a growing gap in B.C.’s power needs. Their projects, they say, are part of the fight against global warming.

"We’re the guys who are proactively doing something about global warming," said Nigel Protter, who represented the energy sector in the Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan process. "And while these projects in and of themselves aren’t going to solve the global warming problem… we as the most privileged society on earth have to set the pace for the rest of the planet. We’ve got to show people that we’re willing to give something up to make a difference."

Protter said some people in the Sea to Sky corridor aren’t willing to "give something up."

"It’s fine in somebody else’s valley because that valley is not quite as nice as ours, but clearly not in our valley. That’s the attitude. It’s the classic NIMBY issue and people haven’t got around that," he added. "People here are unwilling to give anything up for a better planet."

Specifically, in terms of the Ashlu IPP, a majority of the residents in the Upper Squamish Valley are opposed to the project. Their concerns range from added noise generated by the powerhouse to the impact of the project on grizzly bears and fish in the stream. They don’t want to enter into discussions with Ledcor about community benefits because for the most part, they simply don’t want to see a power project in an area as special as the Ashlu.

"Nobody wants to talk about amenities up here because we believe that you can’t replace the canyon. You just can’t replace it," said local resident Tom Rankin, who is a member of the Upper Squamish Valley Rural Association, a group fighting against the development.

The same goes for the majority of the local kayaking community. The Ashlu IPP will change the creek flows once the project is in place. Kayakers will then have to schedule their recreation at certain times on the weekend during certain months when Ledcor releases water flows into the creek.

Like the local residents, the Whitewater Kayaking Association of B.C. does not want to see the creek altered in any way. The Ashlu, as identified in an earlier river inventory study, is one of the top kayaking creeks in the corridor, just as the Rutherford Creek was before its IPP project.

Stuart Smith, river projects co-ordinator with the WKABC, said the Ashlu isn’t like the other creeks in the corridor.

"That’s a special one."

A Plan Proposed

As the Ashlu project has moved steadily ahead through various permitting process at the provincial level over the last two years, another separate process has been ongoing in the area – the Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plan. Gimse said this was the process that should have resolved an IPP master plan.

"Very clearly the SLRD anticipated that the LRMP process would address IPP development within the corridor," she said. "There appeared to be a reluctance to do that."

As in other LRMP plans, the Sea to Sky LRMP brought together various stakeholders in the corridor to attempt to reach consensus on an overall vision for land uses on Crown lands within the corridor. That planning process involved 12 sectors, among them tourism, energy, forestry and motorized and non-motorized recreation.

After a year of the LRMP planning process, there was still some outstanding issues yet to be resolved, among of them IPP development. The majority of the LRMP sectors met to do more work on those issues. Last month they submitted draft resolutions to the government, which specifically addressed IPP development.

Several stakeholders agreed that a number of streams should not be considered for energy development projects. Included in that list of 11 reserved streams was the Ashlu Creek.

The recommendations also included the creation of a list of streams which are more appropriate for energy project developments.

But the stakeholders did not reach consensus on the recommendations. Most significantly, the energy sector was not involved in developing a registry of streams slated for or exempted from IPP development. Protter, the energy sector representative on the LRMP panel, explained why they did join in to those discussions.

"We wanted to participate in the LRMP and we did participate in the LRMP. What we didn’t do and what we didn’t want to do was participate is a side table discussion engineered and manipulated by special interests," he said. "Getting down to a discussion of specific streams is something that we didn’t sign up for and something that we didn’t agree with in any event."

Stuart Smith, who represented the non-motorized recreation sector at the table, said it was frustrating that energy did not join in those discussions.

"It’s one way to derail the whole process I guess, is to just refuse to participate," he said.

Steve Davis, president of the Independent Power Producers Association of B.C., said the industry is adamant in their opposition to creation of a list barring certain streams from development. The IPP permitting process already is exhaustive, expensive and thorough, said Davis.

"We have gone on record to the Minister of Sustainable Resource Management (saying that) there are already proven processes that are functioning and that those are adequate to protect the public interest," explained Davis.

"A typical IPP has to jump through many hoops and hurdles, so there are lots of processes set up, whether it’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or Land and Water B.C. or all these different government agencies," said Davis. "And they have mandates (and) they’ve been trying diligently to execute them."

Minister George Abbott said the draft LRMP is now being analyzed by his ministry. Though he had hoped for a LRMP document where the stakeholders had reached full consensus, he said that doesn’t appear to be possible in the case of the Sea to Sky LRMP.

"There are some differences about where IPPs should be possible and where they should not be," said Abbot. "That’s an issue that my ministry will be looking at and we will be at some point taking the recommendations to Cabinet. I don’t know when that will be yet. There’s a fair bit of work to do on the Sea to Sky LRMP before it’s ready to go into Cabinet."

That means however that the regional district could be left to develop an IPP master plan on its own.

"So that’s a big of a disappointment," said Gimse. "As a result for our region, the only other alternative that we have available to us is to try and address the overall master plan of independent power production in the corridor through our regional growth strategy. And the board has made a commitment to that."

Public Hearing

With or without the plan, the Ashlu project is coming to a head after two years of planning and discussions.

The public hearing – on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the Sea to Sky Hotel in Squamish at 7 p.m. – will most likely deal with these issues among many other outstanding concerns both for and against the Ashlu IPP project. The hearing will be the last time the SLRD board members can receive information before voting on the project. The board will be specifically voting on rezoning the land in the area for a powerhouse.

Gimse said that the board most likely will not consider the rezoning bylaw until the December board meeting.