TERRACE STANDARD |

Bus ingess REVIEW

“THE NISGA’A Lisims

’ Government

wants to

make money and create
‘jobs by establishing
small hydroelectric gen-

erating stations in the
Nass valley.
While the concept is

‘still in the early stages,
' Nisga’a government offi-
: cials say they've talked to

pertise in
’ power generation,

some companies with ex-
run-of-river

Collier Azak;
sims government’s director

of lands and resources, .

says amy such project
would be small in scale,
“We're not looking at

the Li-

major dam constructions,”
Azak said. “Those have
gone the way of the dodo
bird as far as I'm
concerned.”

Run-of-river power in-
volves a turbine turned by
the current of a river,
There’s typically no dam
or reservoir involved.

Right now a Vancouver
company ‘called Coast
Mountain Hydro is propos-
ing to build a run-of-river
station that would generate
iL to 100 megawatts — de-
pending on river levels —
on the Iskut River,

“We do have potential
sites in our area,” Azak

Iskut River power
project advances

PLANS to build a run-of-
river hydroelectric station
on the Iskut River are ga-
thering steam.

Proponent: Coast Moun-
tain Hydro says it has
signed a deal with the TD
Securities Inc. to help
raise $195 million worth of
financing for the project.

The company has also
just submitted its applica-
tion for approval through
the Environmental Assess-
ment Office, said company
president Neil Brazer.

He said he’s hopeful
both the financing drive
and environmental appro-
val could be complete in
about five months.

“Hopefully by that time
the financing would be
Taised and it would be es-
sentially a done deal,”

Guard local interests in
the offshore, MLAs say —

ENSURING the benefits of
oi] and gas exploration ac-
tually flow to local people
is one of the biggest chal-
lenges if the industry is
given the green light, a re-
port prepared by Liberal
MLAs says.

A task force of MLAs
toured the region late last
year and their report was
teleased this spring, along
with a report by a scienti-
fic panel.

Although everyone in
lhe region agrees econo-
mic renewal is needed, it
says, it?s an open question
as to how far oil and gas
drilling would go in gener-
ating jobs and revenue for
local towns.

The MLAs committee
quoted the sentiments of
one presenter: “Offshore
drilling that employs New-
foundlanders and Albertans
is not in our best interest.”

“What would be the
actual economic and so-
cial benefits to local com-
munities of an offshore ail
and gas industry,” the
MLAs ask. “What would
be the economic and so-
cial costs of such an indu-
stry.”

Some local mayors
were making their support
for offshore oil conditional
on their towns receiving a
direct share of royalty re-
venue, they note.

The report also lays out
the high concerns along
the coast about the threat
of environmental catastro-
phe.

It says aboriginal
people fear even routine
industrial activity could
over timé affect their abi-
lity to eat local seafood -
a key aspect of their cul-
ture.

“Many individuals ex-
pressed the belief that any
threat to the ocean — re-
gardless of how small

-was too great a risk to
take,” the report said.
“Some local residents
are concerned that offshore
oil and gas development

_ will damaged or crowd out

existing industries, such as
fishing and tourism,” the
teport adds.

The MLAs urged Vic-

Brazier said,

The generating station
wouldn't involve the crea-
tion of a conventional dam
and reservoir.

Instead it would chan-
nel water from the Iskut
River through a 3.2 kilo-
metre tunnel to generators
in @ canyon.

Power produced would
range from 11 megawatts
to 100 megawatts depend-
ing on how much water is
flowing in the river.

If approvals and finan-
cing go smoothly, he said
preliminary design and en-
gineering could be in
progress next winter, with
a full construction start
this time next year.

Construction work
would employ about 75
people, he said.

toria to “gather all the
facts on the potential eco-
nomic benefits and costs
of this development before
deciding on a final course
of action,”

Key issues they say
need to be addressed are:

Wi Whether the. province

or federal government
owns the offshore re-
sources.

W@ What the actual size
is of offshore oi] and gas
reserves,

mM Finding ways to
make aboriginal people
participants in the offshore
industry,

Mi Determining whether
reserves can be tapped
without harming the envir-
onment,

And it says northerns
must continue to be in-
valved.

“Coastal residents want
to be active participants in
the debate on offshore oil
and gas,” the report stres-
sed.

The Offshore Oi] and
Gas Task Force included
North Coast MLA Bill Be-
Isey and Bulkley-Nechako
MLA Dennis MacKay.

DLR e704-1, ,

said, adding streams both
within Nisga’a territory
and along its border may
be suitable.

He said the Nisga’a
governnient also hopes to
sell rights to log up to
30,000 cubic metres of
timber on Nisga’a land this
year.

Azak said the viability
of the logging is improved
by a new provincial gov-
ernment order allowing the
export of more than a third
of timber logged in the
northwest region.

“With the 35 per cent
exportability, that’s one
area we're looking at,” he
said.

Logging may start ~
producing jobs and a flow

Nisga’a eye hydro, logging

of revenue to the Nisga’a
government — by fall, he
said.

The Nisga’a treaty pro-
vides a five-year phase-in
period during which the
Nisga’a government’s abi-
lity to harvest its. own
wood is gradually stepped
up. ;
The phase-in period,
now half over, means
Skeena Cellulose and
other ‘licensees can still

use the vast majority of

timber that can be harves-
ted each year in Nisga’a
territory.

Azak said the Nisga’a
government also continues

‘to explore possible oppor-

tunities for ecotourism

there.

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