Are Inherently Dangerous Structures, but the Risk
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1 IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT REVIEW PANEL ("JOINT PANEL") ESTABLISHED TO REVIEW THE SITE C CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT ("PROJECT") PROPOSED BY BRITISH COLUMBIA HYDRO AND POWER AUTHORITY ("BC HYDRO") CANADA ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AGENCY AND BRITISH COLUMBIA ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OFFICE _______________________________________ PROCEEDINGS AT HEARING Topic-Specific Session Aquatic Environment January 13, 2014 Volume 19 Pages 1 to 376 ________________________________________ C o p y ________________________________________ Held at: Pomeroy Hotel - Scott Pomeroy Ballroom 11308 Alaska Road Fort St. John, British Columbia Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 2 APPEARANCES JOINT REVIEW PANEL: Dr. Harry Swain - Chairman Ms. Jocelyne Beaudet Mr. Jim Mattison Brian Wallace, Esq. (Legal Counsel) THE SECRETARIAT: Courtney Trevis (panel Co-Manager) Brian Murphy (panel Co-Manager) PARTICIPANTS: Craig Godsoe, Esq., BC Hydro (Legal Counsel) Peter Feldberg, Esq., BC Hydro (Legal Counsel) Ms. Bridget Gilbride, BC Hydro (Legal Counsel) REALTIME COURT REPORTING: Mainland Reporting Services, Inc. Nancy Nielsen, RPR, CSR(A), RCR Steve Lee, OCR AUDIO/SOUND SYSTEM: AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions Alex Barbour. Technical Services Representative. Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 3 INDEX OF PROCEEDINGS DESCRIPTION PAGE NO. Opening remarks by the Chairman: 7 Presentation by Ministry of Forests, 14 Lands and Natural Resources Operation by Mr. Glen Davidson: BC Hydro panel: 32 Mike Porter. John Nunn. Tim Little. Al Strang. Amy Pryse-Phillips. Renata Kurschner. Opening remarks by BC Hydro: 32 Presentation of BC Hydro on dam safety 34 and seismicity, by Mr. Little and Mr. Nunn: Presentation by Mr. Tim Little: 54 Natural Resources Canada panel: 92 Jessica Coulson. John Cassidy. Peter Bobrowsky. Presentation by Jessica Coulson: 93 Presentation by Dr. Peter Bobrowsky: 113 (Continuing on next page) Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 4 BC Hydro Panel: 150 Kevin Neary. Pascale Mera. Bettina Sander. Celesa Horvath. Steve Nicol. Russ Tyson. David Marmorek. Richard Inglis. Peter Evans. Trevor Proverbs. Siobhan Jackson. Brent Mossop. Adam Lewis. Gary Ash. Presentation by BC Hydro, Aquatic 150 Environment: Transport Canada Panel: 182 Paula Doucette. Colin Parkinson. Presentation by Paula Doucette, 182 Transport Canada: Presentation by Colin Parkinson, 187 Transport Canada: Department of Fisheries and Oceans 228 Panel: Brad Fanos Brian Naito Alston Bonamis Dan Sneep Dr. Mike Bradford Dr. Dan Selbie Opening statement by Department of 229 Fisheries and Oceans: Environment Canada Panel: 262 Jennifer Tennant. Daniel Peters. Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 5 Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural 276 Resource Operations Panel: Angela Davies (legal counsel) Chris Addison Nick Baccante Presentation by Chief Roland Willson, 319 West Moberly First Nations: Presentation by Greg McKinnon: 331 Closing remarks by BC Hydro: 362 Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 6 INDEX OF UNDERTAKINGS DESCRIPTION PAGE NO. UNDERTAKING 52: Provide the river 224 profile of the Peace river from the Site-C dam site to the Alberta border. UNDERTAKING 53: Would DFO endorse the 254 number of 1 000 recruits per spawner for arctic grayling in the modeling for the impacts on arctic grayling. UNDERTAKING 54: Provide the Panel with 265 the origin or source of the mercury deposited in the Site-C area and inform the Panel whether there is anything in the Site C project which enhances sources, mobilizes mercury that wouldn't otherwise be mobilized or accelerates bioaccumulation. UNDERTAKING 55: NRCAN and Environment 273 Canada to advise what change in pH is expected following the creation of the reservoir and inundation of the shales and advise if the change of pH could be significant in biological terms. UNDERTAKING 56: Provide the results of 318 the mercury study of Crooked River Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 7 1 Monday, January 13, 2014 2 Pomeroy Hotel - Scott Pomeroy Ballroom 3 Fort St. John, British Columbia 4 5 Topic-Specific Session: 6 Aquatic Environment 7 8 (Proceedings commenced at 9:00 a.m.) 9 10 Opening remarks by the Chairman: 11 THE CHAIRMAN: Good morning, everybody. 12 Welcome to the aquatic hearing session in 13 regard to BC Hydro Site C project, which is 14 proposed to be built about 7 kilometres away from 15 here. 16 Thank you all for coming today to this 17 meeting in Treaty 8 territory, which we acknowledge 18 with gratitude. 19 My name is Harry Swain, and to my left is 20 James Mattison and my right is Jocelyne Beaudet, my 21 colleagues on the panel. 22 The Secretariat staff who have name tags on 23 will be able to assist you with questions that you 24 might have. 25 We have as well a court reporter and Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 8 1 audio-visual technicians. 2 The purpose of the hearing is to allow the 3 panel to receive information from interested 4 parties and the general public on the general 5 effects of the proposal by BC Hydro to construct 6 and operate a large earthfill dam, powerhouse, 7 transmission line, and ancillary works. 8 The hearing is also designed to provide 9 opportunities for Hydro to explain the proposed 10 project and respond to concerns and questions 11 raised by others. 12 This hearing session is designed for the 13 panel to receive information from interested 14 parties and BC Hydro on potential effects related 15 to the aquatic environment and corresponding 16 mitigation. 17 We are an independent panel. We are not part 18 of the Government of Canada or the Government of 19 BC. We are appointed by the two governments for a 20 short time to conduct an assessment of and to 21 provide conclusions on the environmental, economic, 22 social, health, and heritage effects of the project 23 in a manner consistent with the requirements of the 24 Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 and the 25 BC Environmental Assessment Act. Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 9 1 We are also required to provide 2 recommendations about mitigation measures and 3 follow-up programs for the management of these 4 effects should the project proceed. 5 And we must also include a summary of 6 information received at this hearing that may help 7 the governments to determine the justifiability of 8 the project, mitigation measures included, should 9 it proceed. 10 In addition to receiving information on the 11 effects of the project, the panel will receive 12 information regarding the manner in which the 13 project may adversely affect asserted or 14 established Aboriginal Rights and Treaty Rights as 15 well as information regarding the location, extent, 16 and exercise of those Charter rights that may be 17 affected by the project. 18 We can make recommendations which, if 19 implemented, would avoid or mitigate potential 20 adverse effects of the project on those rights. 21 However, the panel cannot make any determination on 22 the nature, scope, and strength of asserted 23 Aboriginal Rights or the scope of the Crown's duty 24 to consult, or whether the Crown has met its duty 25 to consult and accommodate. The panel also cannot Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 10 1 make a determination on Treaty interpretation or 2 whether elements of the project infringe on Treaty 3 Number 8. 4 After the hearings, we will prepare our 5 report for the Federal Minister of the Environment 6 and the Executive Director of the BC Environmental 7 Assessment Office. This report will be submitted 8 within 90 days of the close of the hearing and will 9 be made available to the public by the governments, 10 not by us. 11 Your participation and involvement is very 12 important to us and we trust it is helpful to both 13 Hydro and other participants. We recognize that 14 the conclusions and recommendations that we will 15 provide to the Federal and Provincial Governments 16 on this matter may have an impact on Fort St. John 17 and surrounding communities. 18 I want to assure you that we take this 19 responsibility very seriously and ask everybody 20 here to do the same. 21 When you speak to us, you are not required to 22 give evidence under oath and you are certainly not 23 required to have a lawyer. But everyone is 24 expected to speak honestly and to give us good 25 information. Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 11 1 Our duty is to remain independent and 2 impartial. And, as a result, we cannot engage in 3 private discussion on these matters with anyone 4 involved in these proceedings. 5 We do apologize if we appear detached or 6 unapproachable, so we just need to ensure that our 7 behaviour does not give anyone any reason to be 8 concerned concerning our impartiality. 9 If you have any questions about the project 10 or the process, please see a member of the 11 Secretariat. 12 All documents filed in this proceeding must 13 be placed on the public record unless otherwise 14 ordered by the panel as a result of a formal 15 request for confidentiality. Our strong preference 16 is to avoid accepting information that can't be 17 shared. 18 You should also note that transcripts are 19 being produced by our court reporter. For that 20 reason, it is essential that you use the 21 microphones when speaking and speak reasonably 22 slowly. Transcripts of testimony will generally be 23 available on the website the next day. When you do 24 come forward to speak, please identify yourself and 25 spell your last name for the court reporter. Mainland Reporting Services Inc. [email protected] 12 1 I remind you to direct questions or comments 2 to me as the panel Chair.