A group of British Columbia landowners has filed a petition for a judicial review that could ultimately stop a major dam project on the Peace River.
The Peace Valley Landowner Association want the B.C. Supreme Court to halt a provincial environmental certificate and next week plan to file another suit to quash the federal certificate.
Known as the Site C dam project, it received federal and provincial environmental approval earlier this month. The B.C. government is meeting privately to decide whether to give its final approval and B.C. Hydro is hoping construction could start in January.
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A joint review panel released earlier this year placed numerous conditions on the project.
“We are very confident about this. The government has made such an essential flaw in their process by ignoring some key recommendations from the joint review panel. It cuts to the very core of economics of this project,” said Ken Boon who represents the landowners.
If the government decides against the project the group would stop its challenges, said Ken Boon who represents the landowners.
His group of more than 100 property holders argues the province does not need the additional power and worry about the environmental impact a third dam might have on the Peace River Valley.
The panel review said the 83 kilometre reservoir behind the dam would significantly impact fish, plants and farmland. If built, the dam would flood 107 km of the Peace River and its tributaries. It will affect 32,000 acres of agricultural land, including rich river bottom land.
The group is also concerned about the potential for higher taxes and electrical rates to cover the cost of the project. It argues the government needs to look at alternatives to generate electricity that could be cheaper to build and operate.
