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THE
PRINCE
GEORGE
CITIZEN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011
"IT'S WHAT MATTERS
UL
YOU
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All of
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wild
Prince George Naturalist Club is spreading its wings once more OUTDOORS 17
WEATHER OR NOT
Golfers battle stormy skies at the Glen Bryant Senior Men's Championship
SPORTS 9
Mercury now menacing Canada
CANADA 13
Seniors must be aware of risks from HIV
NEWS 5
News Corp. boss testifies about hacking scandal
WORLD 15
Are there too many top-heavy toddlers?
OPINION 6
Don't float
your boat
Facebook event flipped to August
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
In 2010, hundreds of people cooled off floating down the Nechako River on July 13. This year's Nechako Float has been postponed to August because of the rotten weather.
Frank PEEBLES
Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
The Nechako Float will not ride the waves this weekend - the river is too high and fast for the original Saturday launch plan.
Instead it has been rescheduled to August, according to the event Facebook page.
“After contacting the City Of Prince George, it has been decided that due to the weather conditions of the past several months, we cannot in good conscience recommend floating this Saturday,” stated organizers.
“It is recommended that floaters wait until mid-August to take to the river so we shall be moving the official date of Prince George’s third annual huge
river float... allowing ample time for the flooding to subside, and the water to warm up.” The annual event gathers hundreds of people to push off into the Nechako River for a lazy float down the city’s large tributary of the Fraser River. It is rescheduled for Aug. 20.
“I have to give credit to the organizers for that,” said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass.
“It is too fast and too cold for anyone to be out on the river on a flotation device.”
Police, Prince George Fire Rescue Service, Prince George Search and Rescue, the Prince George Jet Boat Association and many other partners are involved in river safety on an ongoing basis, and have to pay special attention when the Nechako River Float happens.
“We have a plan.”
— See POLICE on page 3
KEMANO
Floodgates reopen on Nineties controversy
Arthur WILLIAMS Citizen staff awilliams@pgcitizen.ca
Rio Tinto Alcan has applied for environmental approval to finish the tunnel that had been part of the controversial Kemano Completion Project - a project that faced intense local opposition more than a decade ago over impacts to the Nechako River.
Work on the tunnel stopped in 1995 after then-Premier Mike Harcourt revoked Alcan’s water license to divert a large portion of the Nechako River to the hydroelectric power station at Kemano.
The government decision came after intense public pressure from environmentalists and First Nations about the impact on salmon and other fish in the Nechako and Fraser rivers.
Paul Henning, Rio Tinto Alcan vicepresident of B.C. operations and Western Canada strategic projects, said the company is not attempting to finish the controversial project, just the tunnel.
The plan is not to increase the amount of water being diverted, but to provide a backup to the 16-kilometre water tunnel which was built in the 1950s, he said.
“[The tunnel] would be connected to the existing power station,” he said. “It doesn’t increase our generation capacity. The restriction is not additional generation capacity, the restriction is the water license.”
It seems to be another chapter in the ongoing story of this project. We have to do some due diligence ...
Project in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“It seems to be another chapter in the ongoing story of this project,” Luggi said. “We have to do some due diligence and look at the specifics of the permit before we come to any conclusions.”
In October, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Rio Tinto Alcan and B.C. Hydro didn’t have an obligation to consult the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council about a power sale deal.
The Carrier Sekani maintain the diversion of water from the Nechako River to Kemano is a violation of their right and land title in the region, and no consultation ever took place.
The creation of the 90,000-hectare Nechako Reservoir flooded land traditionally used by First Nations people.
Tunnel completion 'best long term option'
— David Luggi, Carrier Sekani Tribal Council chief
Due diligence needed: First Nations
Henning said the company realizes the Kemano Completion Project is a sensitive subject. Rio Tinto Alcan is preparing information about the project and planning to present it to First Nations, communities and other stakeholders starting later this summer.
“We’ve chatted at a high level with the First Nations we talk with most,” Henning said. “It’s time to go to another level of detail.”
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council Chief David Luggi said the first he heard about the project is when media called him on Tuesday. The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, under the leadership of Justa Monk and others, was a vocal opponent of the Kemano Completion
Rio Tinto Alcan is currently in the middle of a $2.5 billion upgrade to its Kitimat aluminum smelter. Once complete in 2014, the modernized smelter will be able to produce 420,000 tonnes of aluminum per year, from its 280,000 tonne current capacity.
Currently Rio Tinto Alcan sells surplus power from the 790-megawatt Kemano power station to B.C. Hydro. Once the modernization is complete, the smelter will use nearly all of Kemano’s output.
“If you are modernizing the smelter for 40 to 50 years time, what about Kemano?” Henning said. “The powerhouse is in great shape. But one area we haven’t been able to assess is the tunnel.”
Between last year and this spring, small submarines were able to inspect five kilometres, less than a third, of the tunnel length, Henning said. To do the inspections, water flow in the tunnel had to be reduced to less than 10 per cent for five hours.
The company has essentially three options regarding Kemano: do nothing and hope there are no problems in the future; shut down the tunnel for six to nine months to do a complete physical inspection during the downtime while the new plant is being constructed; or complete the second tunnel as an auxiliary.
— See PROVINCE on page 3
ANNIE'S MAILBOX 18 CROSSWORD 19 MONEY 23
BRIDGE 18 ARTS 18-19 OPINION 6
CLASSIFIEDS 20-22 HOROSCOPE 2 SPORTS 9-12
COMICS 19 LETTERS 6 WEATHER 2
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