The local regional district may have pulled the plug on the Ashlu Creek Independent Power Project but the provincial government says the project is not dead yet.
"I don’t think it’s dead," said Richard Neufeld, the provincial minister of energy and mines. "Maybe there has to be some more information given, maybe there has to be some more discussions.
"Once George Abbott (minister of sustainable resource management) gets back from holidays, him and I will be having a meeting to decide what we’re going to do and how we could move it forward, if that’s what we chose to do."
Neufeld’s comments came on the heels of Tuesday’s decision from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District board, which effectively killed the controversial run of river project on the Ashlu Creek by denying a rezoning application.
The minister said he was concerned by the decision, particularly as the power from the Ashlu Creek was targeted by B.C. Hydro as green energy to meet provincial energy needs in the future.
"We have to review it (the decision) in light of the fact that that was part of the supply that B.C. Hydro would have used in years going forward to provide energy to British Columbians… to keep the lights on in British Columbia," said Neufeld. "So obviously it has some impacts on the whole province, not just there."
He could not say if the province would step in and overrule the SLRD.
"I haven’t looked into that," he said. "A decision was just made… and so that would not be my ministry that would be actively doing that to start with, but to be honest, I haven’t looked at that."
Eight of the nine regional district board members voted against the project Tuesday. Some SLRD directors were almost apologetic as they explained their positions before an audience of about 20 people, including representatives from the development company, Ledcor, and project opponents.
In particular, board members such as Pemberton Mayor Elinor Warner, recognized the impact of the board’s decision on the Squamish Nation, who stood to gain tremendous economic benefits from a partnership with Ledcor if the project had been approved. The project would have reverted to the Squamish First Nation in 40 years.
"I believe First Nations are good stewards of the land," she said, adding that she did not think they would have signed off on a project that would have been environmentally detrimental.
"But having said that, you can’t ignore another community."
That other community she referred to was not only the residents of the Upper Squamish Valley, whose concerns ranged from noise impacts of the project to the possible impact on grizzly bear habitat, but also the community of kayakers and tourism operators who use the Ashlu Creek for recreation.
Their overwhelming concerns, voiced in written submissions and at three public hearings on the project, including the final one Monday night, were a large factor in the board’s decision.
Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland said it was a difficult decision. Because the two sides became so polarized, pitting neighbours against neighbours, it was hard to find the facts amid the hyperbole.
"It’s almost impossible to get to the root of what we should be discussing," he said.
But Squamish Chief Gibby Jacob said the list of approvals from federal and provincial agencies isn’t hyperbole. He called the board’s decision disappointing. More importantly, it made him wary about their relationship in the future.
"As far as I’m concerned they’ve soured the relationship a bit," he said. "We always prided ourselves in Squamish on having the ability to create bridges and do business in an appropriate manner, and to have things go sideways in a process that we thought we understood, it just leaves me wondering… what’s happening?
"We thought we developed a good rapport with some of the local politicians and actually we thought we had their support, but that wasn’t the case."
Though community opposition was one of the key factors in the boards’ decision, directors also spoke of the lack of an overall plan for IPP development in the region, which is a hotbed for potential run of river projects.
The Ashlu project was caught in the crossfire as the regional district struggled to review the development on its own merits but at the same time consider the broader context of IPP development in the region.
"I think that there could have been a better job done in terms of overall planning," said board chair John Turner, as he voiced his list of reasons for voting the project down.
He would not, however, support a motion which called for no IPP development on 12 specific streams until a consensus-based regional strategy was developed by the province. The board voted to defer that decision until their regular board meeting on Monday, Jan. 24.
An IPP strategy is crucial, according to Stuart Smith, the river impacts co-ordinator with the Whitewater Kayaking Association of B.C., who was at the meeting to hear the board’s decision.
"I think it’s imperative that this planning happens and that it happens soon so we don’t end up in another situation like this," he said.
Still, the province isn’t stepping up to the plate right away to develop that strategy.
"I don’t know if at the end of the day an overall strategy is really what’s needed," said Neufeld. "Each one of those projects goes through… a whole host of assessments, from the federal government to the provincial government to the municipal governments, of how they affect the environment and those kinds of things and they’re all fairly stringent rules and regulations that have to be met.
"You can study a whole bunch of things to death and at the end of the day come up with no more than what you’ve already done through the processes that are in place to allow these things to happen."
At the same time he said the province and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the last UBCM meeting pledging to work co-operatively and collaboratively in IPP development.
Ledcor Project Manager Kelly Boychuk would not comment on the decision other than to say, "In response to Tuesday’s decision, Ledcor is now evaluating its options for the project."
