The British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office said Aug. 6 that the environmental review process for the 1,100-MW Site C hydroelectric project is progressing.
On Aug. 1, in accordance with the Agreement for the Cooperative Environmental Assessment for the Site C Project, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the provincial Environmental Assessment Office determined that BC Hydro‘s amended Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is satisfactory and directed it to submit the amended EIS to the Joint Review Panel. The amended EIS was submitted to the panel on Aug. 2, ending the pre-panel stage of the environmental assessment process.
The panel, appointed by federal and provincial environment ministers, consists of the Chair, Harry Swain, and members, James Mattison and Jocelyne Beaudet.
BC Hydro proposes to construct and operate a dam and 1,100-MW hydroelectric station on the Peace River in northeastern B.C. The proposed project would be the third in a series of dams on the B.C. portion of the Peace River. The project components are an earthfill dam 1,050 meters long and 60 meters high, the generating station and associated structures, an 83-kilometer long reservoir, realignment of four sections of Highway 29 and two 77-kilometer transmission lines along an existing transmission line right-of-way connecting Site C to the existing provincial power grid.
