A judicial review of the Environmental Assessment Certificate (EAC) issued to BC Hydro authorizing the proposed transmission line from Merritt to the Lower Mainland is now in the hands of a BC Supreme Court judge after court proceedings wrapped up Feb. 15.
First Nations representatives challenged the certificate, first issued to BC Hydro in June 2009, in the recent court hearing, which lasted from Feb. 8 to 15.
The Interior-Lower Mainland (ILM) Transmission project, which will add a 500 Kv line running from the Nicola substation to the Lower Mainland has been challenged by the Upper Nicola Indian Band, Okanagan Nation Alliance and Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council on two counts — a challenge to the environmental assessment certificate as well as a challenge to the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) — both of which BC Hydro is required to have in order to proceed with the project slated for an in-service date of 2014.
On Feb. 3 the BC Utilities Commision ruled that First Nations had not been sufficiently consulted and maintained the suspension to the CPCN giving BC Hydro 120 days to remedy the deficiency in information and report back to the commission. As for the EAC, both parties are waiting to hear whether a BC Supreme Court judge considered the consultation to be adequate, a decision that could take up to four to six months.
Though he feels the First Nations people presented a strong argument in court, Upper Nicola Chief Tim Manuel is frustrated by the situation.
“We were committed to sit down and have meaningful discussions with them and we never got that — it’s been an uphill battle all the way,” said Manuel, clarifying that his band has never opposed the project. “There are impacts on the land and we would like them addressed and accommodated.”
Manuel and other First Nations representatives are concerned by the impact past and future transmission projects have on the land, which is used for hunting, fishing and other traditional uses. He said that meaningful consultation, which should include education on both sides and lead to mutual understanding, has not occurred and feels that BC Hydro is primarily concerned with economics and fails to understand the affect the project might have on the First Nations’ way of life.
“For us it is about a way of life — our enduring connection to the land that we’ve had since time immemorial,” said Manuel.
On the other hand, project manager Melissa Holland said that BC Hydro, which has had to consult with 60 First Nations and seven tribal councils on the ILM project, takes its responsibility to consult with the First Nations very seriously.
According to Holland, the BCUC agreed with most of BC Hydro’s positions except regarding consultation with several First Nations that was not adequate on two points. This included insufficient information on early options and inadequate discussion regarding the issue of revenue sharing.
After Hydro’s allotted 120 days, if the BCUC finds the deficiency in information remedied, it will lift the suspension on the CPCN.
As for the EAC, Holland clarified that the certificate remains in good standing unless the court deems it to be invalid.
“We are certainly still pursing our in-service date of 2014 and if we have our permits in place and the construction schedule allows for it, then we will meet that in-service date,” said Holland. “The project is a critical infrastructure project for B.C. and we are committed to building it.”
Meanwhile Manuel said the First Nations’ efforts at securing adequate consultation are ongoing.
“We need to reach a conclusion, but it has to be one that we can live with, and that our children and grandchildren can live with.”
