Prominent British Columbians urge Premier to halt work at Site C as major geotechnical problems mar troubled project

VANCOUVER, Sept. 28, 2020 /CNW/ - The British Columbia government should immediately halt all construction work at the problem-plagued Site C dam and appoint an independent team of experts to analyze whether serious geotechnical problems at the site can be solved and at what cost, a number of prominent British Columbians say in an open letter sent today to Premier John Horgan.

The letter's signatories, including a former head of BC Hydro, prominent First Nation leaders, scientists, environmentalists, human rights advocates, and former provincial and federal cabinet ministers, say diverting the Peace River now to make way for further construction activities at Site C could be a costly and potentially catastrophic mistake.

"The prudent course of action ? one that respects Indigenous and Treaty rights as well as the interests of all taxpayers and hydro ratepayers - is to immediately suspend all construction activities at the project," the letter reads. "This includes the imminent and critical river diversion. In our respectful view, it is folly to allow that diversion to occur when geotechnical problems of unknown magnitude remain unresolved at the construction site."

The letter urges Premier Horgan to immediately do three things upon halting construction:

• Appoint a panel of three qualified, independent professionals with no direct ties to BC Hydro or contractors at the Site C project to thoroughly assess all known geotechnical problems at Site C and determine whether the problems can be fixed and at what cost.
• Publicly release the panel's findings well before the government decides on the project's future. This is essential because of the lack of transparency to date on the project.
• Publish a full accounting of all the costs incurred to date at Site C and an up-to-date estimate of all anticipated costs to complete the project, including the costs required to fix the substantial geotechnical problems that have emerged at the site.

In late July, Premier John Horgan voiced "disappointment" when he learned that BC Hydro had known since the beginning of the year that serious "project risk" geotechnical problems had surfaced at Site C. The dam remains years and billions of dollars away from completion. His government then appointed former provincial deputy minister of finance, Peter Milburn, to take a closer look at the project's escalating problems and costs.

The letter notes that Site C's total costs are now estimated at $12 billion, nearly double what they were when former premier Gordon Campbell announced a decade ago that the government wished to build a third dam on the Peace River.

The letter warns that the geotechnical problems at Site C will add immeasurably to the project's ballooning costs, which will be borne by  provincial taxpayers and hydro ratepayers.

"With your government and governments around the world dealing with the harsh economic realities imposed on society by the global COVID-19 pandemic, now is not the time to be digging an even deeper financial hole on a costly project that may, given proper independent scrutiny, be found to be so structurally unsound as to be too risky to complete," the letter concludes.

The letter is signed by:

Robyn Allan, Economist, former CEO of ICBC.
David Anderson, former federal Fisheries and Environment Minister.
Dr. Warren Bell, past founding president, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.
Mauro Chiesa, retired advisor to World Bank on major projects including hydroelectric dams.
Marc Eliesen, former BC Hydro President and CEO.
Ken Farquharson, retired engineer.
Eoin Finn, retired partner, KPMG.
Vicky Huntington, former provincial MLA.
Vicky Husband, noted conservationist.
Kekinusuqs Judith Sayers, Former Chief of Hupacasath First Nation, adjunct Professor, UVIC.
Seth Klein, author, policy analyst, and adjunct professor, SFU.
Alex Neve, former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Union of BC Indian Chiefs.
Harold Steves, Richmond Councillor and former provincial MLA.
David Suzuki, scientist and broadcaster.
Harry Swain, former chair of the joint federal-provincial Site C review panel.
Mardi Tindal, Former Moderator of the United Church of Canada.
Chief Roland Willson, West Moberly First Nations.

The text of the letter can be read here.

SOURCE ZG Stories