The Holmes Hydroelectric projects can all go ahead as planned.
A pair of environmental groups had attempted to block the 10 proposed river turbines east of Prince George near McBride. The Watershed Watch Salmon Society and the David Suzuki Foundation contended that the suite of power generators amounted to one single project, and therefore needed to be processed through the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office.
The projects' proponent, Duke Peterson of Holmes Hydro Inc. based in the Robson Valley, argued that each turbine was its own entity. There was a final collection facility, but any number of the generators (run-of-river turbines) could be subtracted, or others added, as individual entitties.
The judge agreed. Mr. Justice Nathan Smith determined that the Environmental Assessment Office was correct to consider each turbine facility its own entity, and therefore not eligible for a full-scale industrial assessment. Each one had correctly been assessed for the small-sclae impacts they respectively posed to the environment.
"I was very pleased with the decision. I felt the judge understood the issue and made correct decisions," said Peterson. "The judge was also very clear that there was indeed a complete environmental assessment done to the level appropriate for projects of that size. They claimed there was no environmental assessment done because it wasn't co-ordinated through the Environmental Assessment Office. The judge was clear that an environmental assessment was done, it was done on the public record, by the appropriate oversight bodies for projects of this size."
According to provincial regulations, a hydroelectric project that creates 50 megawatts of electricity is of the size and scale that would require the full investigation of the Environmental Assessment Office.
None of the sites proposed by Peterson is slated to generate more than 10 megawatts, and some as little as 2 megawatts. They are proposed for creeks that bear no fish. The water in each of these creeks runs heavily during spring runoff but weakly during winter.
The water would pass briefly through turbines and then resume its normal course down their respective mountainside ravines, eventually feeding into the Holmes River.
While the Holmes River does have a sizable salmon population, the studies already done in the assessment of Peterson's projects indicate there are no fish in this part of the valley.
"While we're disappointed in the outcome, we're pleased to see the court acknowledge that the Environmental Assessment Act could have been drafted better to address this issue," said Karen Campbell, the lawyer representing the two environmental groups. "We also note that in March of this year, BC Hydro took steps to expressly guard against clustered projects like the Holmes Hydro Project from being eligible for its Standing Offer Program."
Peterson said the delays caused by the court action were costly, but the construction phase could now begin at the different sites in the Holmes area. He had hopes to have all or most of them generating power for the provincial grid sometime this year, to take advantage of next spring's melt season.
