| Archived Press Release
- March 16, 2001 |
|
Federal Court Rules for Rivers
– Not Power Exports
March 16, 2001
VANCOUVER – The Steelhead Society
is pleased to announce a major legal victory against
BC Hydro and the threat of negative impact of hydro
electric projects on fish and fish habitats in British
Columbia.
Announced March 15th, the Federal Court
of Appeal ruled that in granting two, ten-year export
permits to BC Hydro in 1998, the National Energy Board
(NEB) did not properly take into account the possible
environmental impacts of manipulation of water flows
at hydro electric facilities to accommodate power exports.
Under the initial direction of the Steelhead
Society, with support of the BC Wildlife Federatin (BCWF),
the Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF) successfully argued
that the managing of BC Hydro’s reservoir system
to meet the demands for export would significantly exacerbate
the impacts of hydro electric operations on fish and
fish habitat. In the March 14 judgement, the Federal
Court of Appeal ruled that NEB’s decision to issue
export permits to BC Hydro was “not reasonable”
because the original BC Hydro applications for permits
did not properly address the potential of “significant
adverse environmental effects” arising from it’s
hydro electric facilities.
Having been witness to the adverse effect
of dams and diversion structures on wild fish and wild
rivers throughout British Columbia, the Steelhead Society
considers this ruling a critical step in increasing
the accountability of industry to the wild legacy of
the province. “At a time of increased awareness
of the potential negative impacts of dams on rivers
systems and the energy crisis in California,”
says Steelhead Society President Daniel Burns, “this
decision reasserts the priority and responsibility of
British Columbia to the health of the environment –
above and beyond the revenue generated by power exports.”
“This decision could have serious
implications for power-starved California and the provincial
budget,” says Tim Howard, the SLDF staff lawyer
who argued the case. BC Hydro has 60 days to submit
a plan that satisfies the Steelhead Society and the
BC Wildlife Federation. Without approval from the SSBC
and the BCWF, the Court could nullify the export permits
and force BC Hydro to reapply to the NEB in order to
continue to export power.
|
