Site C: Experts urge government to lift secrecy around $10-billion mega dam

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Key details about the future of Site C, the province’s largest public infrastructure project and one that grows more contentious by the day, remain hidden from the public according to experts speaking at a town hall Thursday night organized by the B.C. Green party.

Harry Swain, former chair of the Joint Review Panel on Site C and Roland Willson, chief of the West Moberly First Nation, say the NDP government must lift the secrecy around the mega-dam as its $10.7-billion price tag keeps ballooning.

The government has refused to release a report prepared by special adviser Peter Milburn that was supposed to assess major safety issues identified at the hydroelectric dam on the Peace River. Milburn was hired in July, after B.C. Hydro revealed the serious geotechnical problems and escalating costs at Site C in a late filing to the B.C. Utilities Commission.

Horgan told reporters in January that Milburn “did not have the capacity to address the safety challenges that could emerge as a result of geotechnical issues.”

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As a result, the province has hired two independent international experts to review the measures proposed to fix the geotechnical issues on the dam’s right bank, issues that could threaten the stability of the project if left unaddressed. No details have been released on the terms of reference or deadline for the two experts, John France from the U.S. and Kaare Hoeg from Norway.

“When you put it all together, it’s pretty astonishing,” said B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau, who will also speak at the town hall. “You have the largest infrastructure project in B.C.’s history and you have a government that won’t answer the most basic questions about this project.”

Taxpayers still do not know whether the dam can be built safely and at what cost, Furstenau said. B.C. Hydro has not released a quarterly report since July.

Energy Minister Bruce Ralston has not indicated any limit to the public funds the government is willing to spend on the project, Furstenau said.

The lack of information prompted the West Moberly First Nations to file a legal petition in the hopes of forcing the government to release Milburn’s report, the terms of reference for the two new expert reviews and any information about the geotechnical issues and B.C. Hydro’s proposed fix. Willson is also urging Premier John Horgan to suspend work on the dam until cabinet makes a decision on the project.

Willson said B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act is nothing but words on paper considering the lack of transparency provided to Treaty 8 First Nations downstream from Site C.

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“When you look at the massive safety concerns, the downstream Nations in Treaty 8 know nothing of this stuff,” Willson said. “They don’t know that they’re at risk.”

Swain questioned why Milburn, a civil engineer and a former deputy finance minister, was not given the resources to do the in-depth review that was needed.

“You really would want a team of first class geotechnical and dam engineers to offer the kind of specialized advice that they’re belatedly asking for,” said Swain, a former deputy minister of Industry Canada who spent two years heading the federal-provincial review panel that evaluated the environmental, economic, and First Nations impacts of Site C.

Swain suspects the two independent experts will not deliver the definitive technical advice that the NDP government is looking for, rather a more equivocal response about the various risks and options available.

“The only reading I can give to this long delay in coming clean is that the uncertainties are large and therefore the internal wrestling at the cabinet table is significant,” Swain said.

Ralston was not available for an interview Wednesday but his ministry said in a statement that the government is reviewing Milburn’s advice and “will share the findings as soon as possible.”

In 2017, the NDP government decided to forge ahead on building the Site C dam, a project launched by the previous Liberal government, rather than scrap it in the middle of construction.

B.C. Liberal energy critic Tom Shypitka said in a statement that “the NDP continue to play politics with Site C and are deliberately withholding information from British Columbians.”

The B.C. Green party said more than 600 people have registered for Thursday night’s 6 p.m. town hall, which demonstrates the public interest in the project and the need for more transparency on the rising costs.

kderosa@postmedia.com
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