The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 17, 1994 - AS

emano Completion

Alcan waits for the final word

oo By JEFF NAGEL
EIGHTY-SEVEN days of public
hearings to probe Alcan’s $1.3

- billion Kemano Completion Pro-
ject came to an end Jast week in
Vancouver,

Now the affected parties will sit

back and wait for the B.C. Ulili-

. fies “Commission. to issue ils
recommendations.

To environmentalists, farmers
and: fishermen, the fate of the
Nechako River, its fish stocks and
_their.way of life is at stake.

. To. workers and : business
owners in Kitimat and Terrace,

-.. the economic boost of up.to 800

“construction jobs is at stake.

_.. And to taxpayers across the

: province — who will probably

“end up paying for any changes to
the project — millions of dollars

"are at stake.

The ‘commission is expected to
_-present: its recommendations io
~~ cabinet by the end of the year.
That’s when the chickens will

“-"gome' home to roost for Premier

~ Mike Harcourt,
"Jt was Harcourt’s 1991 election
promise of a public review —
.. after. court. challenges failed to
force a federal environmental
“review — that prompted Victoria
"fo appoint the commission last
“year.
“*. They did so with lawyer Mur-
._. ray Rankin’s advice that the pro-
‘jecl’s benefits to the province
outweigh its costs,
The - key, however, was
Rankin’s assertion that since the
“province signed a 1987 agree-
ment ‘with the feds approving

 Kemano, Victoria could not’ tor-

pedo the half-built project now
Without making B.C. taxpayers li-
“able. to an unacceptable $600
million-plus in compensation to
Alcan. : ,
The day the review was an-

nounced Harcourt conceded that _

no matter what the outcome, in-

an option.

_ ‘To project opponents, that made

-. the hearings a sham from the be-

«Binning,

.. The. government claimed the
commission might come up with
ideas to improve the project and
lessen ils impacts — that it was.

“more than just a political foram
for. opponents to vent their frus-

_ trations.

- . After initial threats, the Rivers

‘Defence Coalition, A River
Forever, and other opposition

‘groups —- with the exception of
the Cheslatta band — decided ta

participate in the hearings.

For cight months the
propaganda machines of both Al-
can and the project’s environmen-
tal opponents worked. overtime

_- People got a chance to complain

trying to put their own spinon the
hearings and play the event for

maximum polilical effect.
Now, after eight months of
technical testimony and

courtroom showmanship, the fate

of the project is about to return to’

the world of pure politics.

The commission can be ex-
pected to recommend measures to
reduce the project’s impact on
people living along the Nechako.

The idea of a community bene-

. fits fund for affected arcas has

been bandied about.

Other possibilities are helping
waterfront property owners make
changes to docks and. irrigation
works to handle lower water
levels,

Any outright design changes in

That outcome would put Har-
court back in the hotseat: he
would have to either turn his back
on the Nechako and the NDP’s

- énvironmental wing or else cough

up tax dollars ta compensate Al-
can.

In that case, a less visible way
of settling accounts with Alcan
would be to renegotiate B.C.
Hydro’s contracts to buy Kemano
power.

Alcan last year demanded high-
er prices for KCP power — a
demand Harcourt rejected saying
it would cost British Columbians
an additional $350 million.

The tiff went public only briefly
before politicians refused to dis-
cuss the matter.

But it’s likely a glimpse of the
bargaining that will go on after
Victoria decides-- how much
change to ECP is politically ex-
pedient.

Meanwhile, Alcan vice-
president Bill Rich says the com-
pany, won't. restart construction
before the’. commission hands
down its findings.

““It would: be arrogant to restart

"ing t8€ project ‘altogether wad nor’. COnSBeetion th the: face.of-a pub-

lic review,” ‘he says. :

All active parties in + the hear-
ings will submit final arguments
in. writing to the B.C. Utilities
Commission over the next two
weeks.

The hydroelectric
doesn’t involve new dams.

But it would drill a second tun-
nel through Mt. Dubose enabling
Alcan to divert nearly half of the
present flow of the upper
Nechako River to a second set of
generators at Kemano.

The project has sat half-built
since the company halted con-
struction in 1991 in response to a
serics of since-resolved. court
challenges by environmental
groups. ;

project

MORE THAN a year after they
were announced and many thov-
Sands of publi¢ and private dol-
lars later, Alcan vice president
Bill Rich says he didn’t hear any-
thing in public hearings on the
Kemano Completion Project he
hadn’t heard before,

“I didn’t hear any surprises, [
-. didn’t “hear. questions we hadn't
addressed .or the Department of
- Fisheries and Oceans hadn't ad-
- dressed,’’ said Rich at a press
-conference.. last week following

‘the. final day of the public hear-

; ings.
’ --They were called by the provin-

Jo surprises

by the B.C. Utilities Commission
to determine if environmental im-
pacts could be buffered and to
determine how to derive maxi-
inum economic benefits from the
project.

The Kemano Completion Pro-
ject is now a $1.2 billion helf-
finished development waiting for
the commission’s final report.

Rich, who has spent the better
part.of 15 years steering the
Kemano project through various

crises, said the hearings did per- -

form a valuable public service.
“The community hearings es-
pecially gave people a good

LIKE NEW concrete batch
plant (top) constructed for the
Kemeno Completion Project
sits idle, as do these trucks,
Alcan and others now wait for

a crucial report to be done.

from hearings"

And although groups and indi-

viduals veered away from. the

public hearings’ terms. of
reference, Rich said those com-
ments were fair game. i

“It goes with the territory,”’
Rich added.

The Alcan official said the utili-
ties commission ‘‘has conducted
a rigorous. environmental and
socio-economic review’? of. the
project. ,

He said the hearlngs gave Alcan

a chance to state the project im-

Proves upon the original Kemano

development of the early 1950s ~
and will bring benefits to the pro-

Rich added that Alcan believes
there is nothing mare to be gained
by any attempt to hold more hear-
ings or conduct more studies,

“After the thoroughness of the
process we've just come through,

“no one could make a case to the

taxpayers of B.C. or Canada that
more dollars should be spent ex-

- ploring this issue,’’ said Rich. ~
“‘Tcan’t imagine how any more

information could be presented or
how any other kind of hearing

could shed additional light on our

project,’” he continued.
Rich wouldn’t predict what the
ulilities commission’s final report

BIII Rich

And he did say the company
will get around to determining its
costs to participate in the hearings
and will submit a bill to the

Some
facts

—- 1950 —

A Alcan is given approval
to build Kemano I. The
Nechako River is dammed
and reversed, creating 4
92,000ha reservoir from
rivers and lakes. The pro-
vince slpns a water. licence
granting Alcan legal rights
to more water for more
whatever generating capac-
ity it has by 1999,

—— 1978 —

& Alcan begins selling sur-
plus electricity to B.C.
Hydro. The diversion of
more water, plus dry
weather, results In very low
Nechako River levels.

— 1980 —

A The federal government
gets a court injunction re-
quiring Alcan to release ex-
tra water to protect fish.

—— 1985 —

4A Alcan challenges the fed-
eral injunction to protect Its
water rights under the 1950

agreement.
87 —

A An out-of-court back-
room deal is reached hbe-
tween Alcan, Ottawa and
Victoria. The Nechako
Settlement Agreement pives
Alcan rights to half the
remaining water in the
Nechako system, reducing
flows to as little as 12 per
cent of pre-1950 levels, Al-
can gives up water rights to
the Nanika-Kidprice
watershed.

988

A Construction begins on
the Kemano Completion
Project. A second tunnel fs
to be drilled through Mt.
Dubose and more genera-
tors are to be added increas-
ing power output by about

285 mepawatts,
— 1990 —
& The Conservative govern-

’ ment passes a special cabi-

net order exempting the pro-

ject from the federal En-

vironmental Assessment and
Review Process (EARP), En-
viroomentalists begin a
court 1 G9 ’

A The Rivers Defence Coali-
tion and Carrier Sekani
Tribal Council win a sur-
prise judgment from the
Federal Court. It overturns
the 1990 exemption, nullifies
the 1987 settlement agree-
ment and orders a federal
environmental review,

A Two months later Alcan
halts construction and Lays
off 800 workers. The project
is half-built, with more than
$500 million in the ground,

1992 —

A The Federal Court of Ap-
peal overturns the lower
court ruling. No review is
necessary, the court finds,
and awards costs to Alcan,
Construction can resume,
but Alcan elects to wait out
any further legal challenges.
A Envilronmentalisis and
natives decide to appeal the
case to the Supreme Court
of Canada.

4. Murray Rankin. is hired
by Victoria to decide what
the province can do to fulfill
Mike Harcourt’s 1991 elec-
tion promise of a public

review.
1993 —

A Pubilc hearings bepin and
Victoria accepts the 87
settlement agreement as
binding.

& The Supreme Court oF
Canada refused to hear fur-
ther appeals by environmen-
tal groups, ©

eal government and conducted chance to unload," he said. vince, would contain. provincial government,
Strike vote The Queen
THERE MIGHT be a strike. . IT’S A big day in Prince'| ,
THE START IS FOR People who belong to the TWA are taking a strike vote. George. The Gaon 8
PEOPLE LEARNING The vote was held in Terrace this past weekend, Results coming totown. ..
TO READ | from across the province will be known today... She will open the Uni-:
IWA members want more money, They say they gave versity of Northern B.C.

And 50° people are.
there from Terrace to see
the Queen, — a

Also there is a local

. Singing group called the.
Kermodei Choristers.

They. will perform for

the Queen.

up raises in the past. These were during bad times for
companies.

But now the companies are making more money. And -
the IWA says the companies can afford to give raises,

In the .photograph are Surinder. Mathotra- and “Vic
Lefebvre. They were at the Terrace Inn on Saturday
where voting took place. They are shown here counting
some of the votes,

The
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