The recommendations of a panel reviewing a proposed dam for northern British Columbia are expected to be made public this week.
The Joint Review Panel, which is reviewing the proposed Site C project on the Peace River just outside Fort St. John, submitted its report May 1 to the federal environment minister and the provincial environmental assessment office.
The report is to be made public May 8.
The environmental review process heard from the public, aboriginal groups, farmers and businesses during the 26 days of public hearings.
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B.C. Hydro’s proposed 1,100-megawatt hydroelectric dam would be built southwest of Fort St. John.
The Site C dam was first proposed as part of a series of dams on the Peace River in the 1950s. Site A, also called the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, was built in 1967. Site B, or the Peace Canyon Dam, was finished in 1980 and is 23 kilometres downstream from the W.A.C. Bennett Dam.
The Site C dam, also proposed during that time, was rejected following B.C. Utilities Commission hearings in 1982 and 1989.
In 2010, the provincial government introduced the Clean Energy Act, which requires at least 93 percent of electricity generated in B.C. to come from clean, renewable energy resources. The Site C dam would help fill that mandate.
Many local residents have vigorously opposed the dam because of concerns about unstable hills and the loss of farmland.
