Upper Pitt River Water Power Project
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Upper Pitt River Water Power Project Project Description Upper Pitt River Water Power Project Project Description Submitted to: BC Environmental Assessment Office 2nd Floor 836 Yates Street Victoria, BC V8W 9V1 Canada February 9 2007 Pitt River Power Project Proponent Information The proponent for the Upper Pitt River Project is: Northwest Cascade Power Ltd. 202-4882 Delta Street Delta, BC V4K 2T8 Tel. 604-946-9232 Fax. 604-946-9250 Northwest Cascade Power Ltd. (NWCP) is incorporated in British Columbia and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Run of River Power Inc. Run of River Power Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ROR. Run of River Power Inc. owns Rockford Energy Corp., which owns and operates the 7.6 MW Brandywine Hydro facility near Whistler, BC. The proponent’s lead contact is R.G. “Jako” Krushnisky at the above address and phone number and at [email protected]. The proponent’s regulatory contact for the application is Iain Cuthbert (Barkley Project Group Ltd.) at 250-390-2627 and at [email protected]. Page 1 Pitt River Power Project General Background Information The proposed project consists of seven run-of-the-river water power projects with a combined capacity of 161 MW (see Table 1). Electricity generated by the seven projects will be interconnected through a common substation and transferred to the BCTC electrical grid via a 138 kV or 230 kV transmission line (the “Transmission Line”). The combined capacity of the project exceeds the 50 MW environmental threshold for a reviewable project as specified under Part 4 of the Reviewable Projects Regulation. The project will generate clean, ‘green’, renewable energy, for which there is a growing demand in British Columbia and North America. The power will be sold into the electricity market, primarily to BC Hydro, who is seeking independent power producers to generate and supply electrical energy to help meet growing demands in the Province. The project streams are adjacent tributaries to the Upper Pitt River, located approximately 35 km north of Pitt Meadows in Area F of the Fraser Valley Regional District (Figure 1). The geographic centre of the project is approximately 49o40’12”N; 122 o41’45”W. Page 2 Pitt River Power Project Project Overview The project entails development of seven run-of-river water power projects on tributaries to the Upper Pitt River. The tributaries proposed for development (listed from north to south on the west side of the valley) are Bucklin Creek, Steve Creek, Pinecone Creek, Homer Creek and Boise Creek. On the east side of the valley Shale Creek and Corbold Creek have been proposed for development. Corbold Creek will have two intakes, including one on the mainstem and one on the main tributary, East Corbold Creek (not gazetted). A map of the hydropower project locations and transmission route options is provided in Figure 1; Figure 2 shows the proposed projects in a watershed context. Preliminary estimates of project hydrology and power characteristics are summarized in Table 1. A summary of preliminary project arrangements is provided in Table 2. Photographs are provided in Appendix I. Table 1. Upper Pitt River Project Preliminary Hydrology & Power Summary. Stream Intake MAD Design Q Capacity (MW) Energy (m3/s) (m3/s) (GWh/yr) Bucklin 4.3 8.0 35 119 Steve 1.2 2.5 16 49 Pinecone 2.6 4.5 23 82 Homer 1.6 3.0 15 48 Boise 7.7 12.2 26 83 Shale 1.9 3.6 16 55 Corbold 6.4 9.4 15 61 East Corbold 2.2 3.4 15 57 (ZZ) Total 161 554 Table 2. Upper Pitt River Project Preliminary Arrangement Summary. Stream Intake Powerhouse Powerhouse Penstock Penstock Elevation Elevation (m) Location Location Length (m) (m) Bucklin 733 140 LB LB 4524 Steve 1010 110 LB LB 3300 Pinecone 785 100 LB LB 3632 Homer 770 90 LB LB 3678 Boise 353 61 LB LB 3368 Shale 844 240 LB LB 3558 Corbold 282 67 RB RB 3055 East 660 67 Uses Corbold LB, Crosses 5682 Corbold powerhouse Corbold Cr. (ZZ) at 45 m elevation LB = left bank; RB = right bank. Page 3 Pitt River Power Project Project Components The high elevation intake/diversion works at each creek will consist of a reinforced concrete weir and sluiceway; earth flanks with rock armouring, trash racks and screens. Intakes will be screened using a Coanda-style wedge wire screen with a 1 mm to 2 mm spacing. Access roads and penstock routes will make the best possible use of the existing forest road infrastructure throughout the watershed. Some new road construction, road upgrades and a road use agreement with the forest licensee, the Teal-Jones Group will be required. The penstocks for the seven projects total approximately 30.8 km in length and will be buried where practicable. Penstock segments will be constructed of HDPE plastic, fiberglass reinforced plastic, iron ductile and steel pipe based on pressure rating and location as required by the Project Engineer. Pelton turbines will be used to generate electricity. Powerhouses will be located adjacent to the tributary streams and situated above the 200 year flood plain level of the Pitt River. The discharge from the powerhouse will be returned directly to the stream of origin via an open, rock lined tailrace channel to ensure total gas pressure equilibration occurs before returning to the stream. Powerhouses and switchyard sites will occupy approximately 1 ha to 1.5 ha at each site or 7 ha to 10.5 ha in total. Two Transmission Line route options are currently under study: the preferred option is to be selected by the end of February, 2007. Option 1 is for the individual projects to connect into a common electrical sub-station located at Steve Creek via approximately 20.2 km of 25 kV transmission line running along the forestry mainline road. Option 2 is for the individual projects to connect into a common electrical sub- station located at Corbold Creek via approximately 10.1 km of 25 kV transmission line, joining into 10.5 km of 69 kV transmission line. With Option 2 the transmission lines would run along the forestry mainline road. The electricity will be connected to the power grid through one of two Transmission Line route options: (1) traveling west 42.3 km to connect with the Cheekye sub-station in Squamish, or (2) traveling south 53.9 km to connect with the Coast Meridian substation near Coquitlam. Each of these options is currently the subject of an electrical engineering feasibility study, which includes consultations with BC Hydro and the British Columbia Transmission Corporation. Transmission Line Option 1 entails 8.6 km of new transmission right of way, 44 km of transmission along existing forest roads and 9.9 km adjacent to the BCTC Page 4 Pitt River Power Project 5L45 500 kV transmission line. The alignment includes a 4.3 km crossing of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, requiring a park boundary amendment. Transmission Line Option 2 entails 0.7 km of new transmission right of way across land, 32.2 km of new transmission right of way across water, 31.2 km of transmission along existing forest roads and 11.5 km adjacent to the BCTC 500 kV transmission line. The alignment includes 32.2 km of submarine cable along Pitt River and Pitt Lake, and a 5.2 km crossing of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park adjacent to the BCTC 500 kV transmission line, where widening of the right of way (ROW) would require a park boundary amendment. In general, widening along existing transmission line right of way would entail clearing an additional 30 m to 40 m. Both transmission route options include crossings of fish-bearing streams, including two crossings of the upper Pitt River. Most of the Option 2 route would entail submarine cable and a Fisheries Act authorization would likely be required for the cable landings. Project Construction The projects will require approximately $330M capital investment and are expected to be constructed sequentially during 2009 to 2015. Due to the remote location of the project and lack of road access, temporary lodging arrangements will be made to accommodate project personnel. Local residents and commercial tourism operators have expressed an interest in helping to provide lodgings. The Provincial Input Output Model was used to estimate the economic benefits associated with the project. Estimated direct, indirect and induced benefits include 1,950 person years of direct and indirect employment, $129M GDP, $14.8M Provincial tax revenues and $12M federal tax revenues. A detailed Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) will be prepared containing routine and site-specific environmental impact mitigation measures and emergency preparedness and response plans. Construction in environmentally sensitive areas will be overseen by a qualified environmental monitor. Potential Impacts Detailed fish, wildlife and terrain stability studies commenced in 2006 and are ongoing. The projects are expected to have low environmental impacts and are to be certified as ‘green’ power projects under the Environment Canada sanctioned EcologoTM brand. Page 5 Pitt River Power Project The Upper Pitt River supports stocks of all five species of Pacific salmon as well as coastal cutthroat, rainbow and steelhead trout. The system also supports populations of Dolly Varden and bull trout (char) and hybrids of the two species. Non-salmonid species that may occur in the watershed Upper Pitt River include white sturgeon, longfin pygmy smelt and mountain whitefish. Of the seven proposed projects only Boise Creek has fish (hybrid Dolly Varden/bull trout) present at the intake location and throughout the diversion reach. The intake structure at Boise Creek will occupy approximately 100 m2 of fish habitat, and will include a fish ladder or similar design feature to enable resident fish to migrate past the weir.