Page A2 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 15, 1992 Environmental review at stake TERRACE- — The province will iry to tread a fine line between being sued by natives or by Alcan as it decides how to carry out an environmental. review of the Kema no Completion Project. ' The billion-dollar hydroelectric project. presents Victoria with a legal: ‘minefield, says Murray Rankin, a lawyer hired to advise cabinet on the issue. “The premier went way out on a limb and said there'd be a pub- lic review," » Rankin told aldermen and focal represcnta- tives at a meeting here Friday. ' He said bis job is to ‘‘help the province get its act together - on the project.” . Premier Mike Harcourt’s prom- ise of a.full public environmental . teview of the project came after the federal appeal . court in May erased a previous court victory of northivest;. natives: and environ- ‘mentalists. That earlier decision said the federal government was wrong in striking a 1987 deal with Alcan ‘and the provincial government to build the project without first golng through an environmental Teview. * _ Now, as a resumption in con- struction nears, Victoria finds it- self caught between conflicting legal obligations. The government may be con- tractually bound to-supporting the _ project under the 1987 settlement “but 12 per cent of the Nechako River’s water. . Breaking that deal would leave the province open to ,a massive lawsuit from Alcan, which has al- ‘ready invested more than $600 million in the project. ‘Is the settlement. agreement - written in stone? That's one of the big questions,’’ said Rankin. ‘But he said the government owes a ‘‘trust-like obligation” lo look after the interests of native people when approving such projects. That so-called “fiduciary re- sponsibility’ was created last year by Chief Justice Allan McEachem when he ruled against Gitksan = and Hereditary, chiefs in their land claim case. - ‘It also caused a delay in : the provincial government’s approval of Orenda’s pulp mill plans here. Rankin says not fulfilling that responsibility leaves the province. open to native lawsuits. Meanwhile, environmentalisis fear the destruction of fish stocks in the Nechako River as Alcan takes more water to power more generators. “It’s an incredible dilemma,” Rankin said. ‘Do the costs out- weigh the benefits? And even if the costs do outweigh the bene- fits, is it still legally the right thing to do to pull the plug on a contract like this?”’ Rankin will report back to cabi- ‘which gave Alcan the rights to all Contact your Centre at. ‘635-7134 4830 Lazelle, Terrace # HIRE ‘Hire. a Student to. help with © Wash the windows. Cut the grass: Build a fence. Paint the house. . 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Sex: Mala. - ats: Jotin & Jeannette Hoomenborg ; net by Aug. 15 on the legal issues — specifically on how: binding the 1987 selthement agreement is, and what’s needed to satisfy the government’s responsibility to northwest natives, -**The province’s hands could be completely tied, or there could be a lot more.room to ‘manocuvre,”’ he said. ‘Local representalives urged a Speedy process to end the un-- certainty that resulted in Alcan laying off nearly 800 workers at Kemano last summer. **Many of these things have been addressed, and readdressed and readdressed,”’ Doug Smith said. ‘‘And here we are going through another process.” ; “We put these companics ' through the wringer and the mes- ‘sage we're sending is very nega- tive indeed.” "1 see this as a black eye for British Columbia,’ added city alderman Darryl Laurent. Rankin assured them a big con- IN J IT’S CHRISTMAS LEGO AND little tikes - Mail Orders Welcome JULY 15 - 21 sideration is what any decision wili do to the province’s business climate. ‘Ifthe province decides it wants io tear up a contract worth a billion dollars, obviously that’s going to have an effect on the province’ 's attractiveness as a place to invest,’? Rankin said. Much of what Victoria might do depends on whether or not na-: tives and environmentalists fight- _ ing the project wiil take the fceder- al appeal court decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, “The provincial government is quite candidly coat-lailing on ‘the appellants,’” said Rankin. - The Rivers Defence Coalition and -Carrier-Sekani natives must give notice by Scpt. 8 of whether or not they'll seek a Supreme Court appeal. If they do appeal, the timetable for action would be ‘set back: - many: months, because Alcan has ~ said it won’t resume construction until all avenues’ for legal chal- ULY! GT nttcline WE os : re) he: am! Panis | Skeena Mall 9 oo whe bah” Me Pee 635-5236 Gov’t immersed in Kemano quagmire _ lenges a are exhausted. Tf there is no appeal, however, the company might resume work quickly, Raakin said, and the pro- vince must be prepared to ‘‘come out of the closet.”” Rankin toured Kitimat and Kemano last week. and met with town councils, natives and en- viroumentalists, - Rankin is also carrying out an -& economic analysis of the project, gauging the significance of the project to the regional economy. “We're also looking at bow this factors into the whole power development picture of British Columbia? How badly docs B.C. Hydro need it?”? Thai, he said, includes the issue of exporting surplus © Kemano power south to the U.S. ° Rankin said he wants to sce the government’s , volumes of files and reports on Kemano opened to . | TRAVEL TALK. | TRAVEL TIPS FOR TRIP TAKERS ...How To Be Ready When it's Time To Gol What to Take’..And HowTo Pack IL. 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