VANCOUVER – The Holmes Hydro project will not have to undergo an environmental assessment, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in a decision handed down today.

Ecojustice, representing the David Suzuki Foundation and Watershed Watch Salmon Society, brought the case before the Court in April, challenging the province’s position that the multi-site Holmes Hydro project could be split up to avoid an environmental assessment.

Under provincial law, any hydroelectric power project that will generate more than 50 megawatts of electricity must undergo an environmental assessment. The Holmes project is expected to produce about 76 MW of electricity from 10 connected sites along a 40-kilometre stretch of the Holmes River, an important salmon river near McBride, B.C.

“While we’re disappointed in the outcome, we’re pleased to see the Court acknowledge that the Environmental Assessment Act could have been drafted better to address this issue,” said Karen Campbell, Ecojustice staff lawyer. “We also note that in March of this year, B.C. Hydro took steps to expressly guard against clustered projects like the Holmes Hydro Project from being eligible for its Standing Offer Program.”

Representatives from all three organizations are available for comment today.

For further comment, please contact: 
Karen Campbell, staff lawyer | Ecojustice
604.928.2258
kcampbell@ecojustice.ca 

Aaron Hill, ecologist | Watershed Watch Salmon Society
250.818.0054
hillfish@telus.net 

Jeffery Young, senior science and policy analyst | David Suzuki Foundation
604.764.6142
jyoung@davidsuzuki.org

On October 31st, 2012, the $26 million Cohen Inquiry Final Report, “The Uncertain Future of the Fraser River Sockeye” was released. It included 75 recommendations to government and has been quoted as a “blueprint” for salmon conservation.

It’s been over 6 months since the Report was released and where are we now?

Not only has government not responded to any deadlines in the Cohen Inquiry Final Report, many recent decisions and initiatives suggest they are taking steps that seem contrary to recommendations from the Inquiry.

A few examples:

Justice Cohen concluded that “the potential harm posed to Fraser River sockeye salmon from salmon farms is serious or irreversible,” and he recommended Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) provide timely access to fish health data at salmon farms collected through routine monitoring, in part because pathogens and diseases associated with the industry pose a threat. Despite this, DFO has yet to post any salmon farm disease and pathogen data on its website.

“It’s been way over two years since any level of government has publicly reported fish farm disease data on their websites and 6 months since the Inquiry recommendations were tabled,” said Stan Proboszcz, biologist, Watershed Watch. “Levels of government responsibility and transparency are at all-time lows.”

The Inquiry also recommended that DFO establish dedicated funding sufficient to carry out the implementation of the Wild Salmon Policy—a policy hailed by many conservationists as strong and progressive. But instead of setting up such a fund, government intends to make significant cuts to DFO—$4 million this coming year, $5 million in 2014-15, then $33 million annually for 2015-16 and subsequent years.

“Recent deep cuts to DFO’s budgets and staff are troubling,” said Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch. “A nil response from government on the sockeye inquiry recommendations, given all the stressors identified by Justice Cohen, is irresponsible.”

The “Cohen Report Card” (www.watershed-watch.org/cohen-report-card/) provides an overview of Justice Cohen’s recommendations and highlights the delays and lack of action to date. This service is provided by Watershed Watch Salmon Society and the SOS Marine Conservation Foundation due to their grave concerns regarding government action on the Cohen Final Report and protecting sockeye for future generations.

Watershed Watch Salmon Society was a participant in the Cohen evidentiary hearings and conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence and Final Report.

To arrange an interview please contact:

• Dr. Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society – 604-809-2799
• Stan Proboszcz, Fisheries Biologist, Watershed Watch Salmon Society - 604-314-2713

Watershed Watch Salmon Society (WWSS) has been watching out for B.C.’s wild salmon since 1998. Our focus is to elevate the dialogue surrounding wild salmon and to improve our chances of saving them. Watershed Watch believes that real changes in attitude and behaviour are based on understanding, and that significant understanding requires a broad and deep appreciation of a wide range of habitat, harvest, and management issues. www.watershed-watch.org

The SOS Marine Conservation Foundation (SOS) is a group of successful business leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists brought together to protect B.C.’s wild salmon stocks and the marine environment from negative impacts of open net-cage salmon farms and establish B.C. as a leader in creating a globally renowned, stable and viable aquaculture industry. www.saveoursalmon.ca

For a complete update on the status of Justice Cohen’s recommendations from the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River see Watershed Watch and SOS Marine Conservation Foundation’s Cohen Report Card.

The backgrounder Alaskan Salmon Fisheries Sustainability and Eco-certification – A Backgrounder prepared by Watershed Watch Salmon Society, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, Wild Fish Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation provides a summary of sustainability strengths and weaknesses in Alaskan salmon fisheries.

The article goes on to state, “The reports, confidential draft copies of which have been obtained by The Globe and Mail, show that seven of the 24 conservation units in the watershed have been designated as “red zones” with another four rated red/amber. That classification means the salmon populations in those areas are considered at risk of extinction… The documents are considered to be one of the final pieces that need to be in place before DFO can implement its wild salmon policy, a strategy that has been in development for nearly 10 years. DFO has refused to release the documents, saying they are still in draft form – even though the reports were effectively completed in the spring of 2012.”

This delay is also in line with the lack of progress by Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the recommendations made by Justice Cohen.  The Cohen Report Card, presented by Watershed Watch Salmon Society and the SOS Marine Conservation Foundation, clearly shows that several of the milestones laid out by Justice Cohen have not been met.

The media release states: “Chief Rita Matthew of the Simpcw First Nation today questioned why the Holmes River hydro project in the McBride area has been allowed to avoid the requirement of a full environmental review, given that the 76 megawatt project is 26 megawatts over the 50 megawatt threshold that should trigger an environmental review under the Environmental Assessment Act. Citing a legal challenge to the Holmes River hydro project in the BC Supreme Court by the David Suzuki Foundation and Watershed Watch, Chief Matthew has sent a letter to Hon. Rich Colemen, Minister of Energy, pointing out that 10 small permits in the Holmes River watershed are all closely tied into one large project that should have been subjected to a full environmental review under Section 5 of the Environmental Assessment Act.”

For more information on the Holmes Hydro case, see Watershed Watch’s post Groups challenge the failure of B.C.’s environmental assessment office to do its job.

Under provincial law, the government must complete an environmental assessment of any hydroelectric power project that will generate more than 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity. The Holmes Hydro Project will produce about 76 MW from 10 tributaries along a 40-kilometre stretch of the Holmes River, an important salmon river near McBride, B.C. But the Environmental Assessment Office, applying the strongly criticized practice of “project-splitting,” divided the project into smaller power plants, each of which would produce less than 50 MW, so as to avoid an environmental assessment.

Staff lawyers for Ecojustice will ask the B.C. Supreme Court to overrule the province’s decision and ask for an environmental assessment to be completed before the project proceeds.

For more information, see the full media release issued April 3, 2013: Groups challenge the failure of B.C.’s environmental assessment office to do its job, as well as the articles and April 2, 2013 media advisory below.

Media Coverage:

• Vancouver Sun; April 3, 2013; “Massive hydro project bypassing B.C. enviro assessment process: conservationists“
• Times Colonist; April 3, 2013; “Conservationists object to B.C. river power projects bypassing environmental reviews“
• The Province; April 3, 2013; “Environmental groups seek review of B.C. Holmes River hydro project“
• Nanaimo Daily News; April 3, 2013; “Hydro project challenged for lack of enviro assessment“
• The Tyee; April 3, 2013; “Hydro project bypassing BC enviro assessment process: conservationists“
• Canadian Press; April 3, 2013; “Hydro project misses enviro assessment“
• HQ Prince George; April 3, 2013; “Ecojustice fight hydroelectric project near McBride“

Media Advisory:

Ecojustice, Watershed Watch Salmon Society and the David Suzuki Foundation will be available for interviews Wednesday, April 3 at 9 a.m. The groups will take questions about the lawsuit challenging the B.C. government over its decision not to complete an environmental assessment of the proposed Holmes Hydro Project, which would be built on tributaries of the Holmes River near McBride, B.C.

The B.C. Supreme Court will hear the case in Vancouver, B.C., from April 3-4. Court proceedings begin Wednesday at 10 a.m.

The proposed Holmes Hydro Project will produce about 76 megawatts from 10 tributaries along a 40-kilometre stretch of the Holmes River, which is an important salmon river and wildlife habitat. But the Environmental Assessment Office divided the project into smaller power plants to avoid an environmental assessment that would evaluate the impacts of the Project throughout the local watershed, and in particular, on the population of salmon that feeds into the Fraser River system.

A full media release will be circulated Wed., April 3 at 7 a.m.

WHEN:

Wed., April 3 at 9 a.m. | Court proceedings begin at 10 a.m.

WHERE:

Courthouse steps | B.C. Supreme Court
Corner of Hornby and Nelson Streets, Vancouver, British Columbia

WHO:

Devon Page, Executive Director | Ecojustice dpage@ecojustice.ca
Aaron Hill, Ecologist | Watershed Watch Salmon Society hillfish@telus.net
Jay Ritchlin, Director General – Western Canada | David Suzuki Foundation jritchlin@davidsuzuki.org

For more details, please contact:

Pierre Hamilton, Communications Associate | Ecojustice
416-368-7533 x 526 phamilton@ecojustice.ca

Gravel mining in the Fraser Valley has long been contentious.  On one hand we need gravel for roads and construction.  On the other hand the mining and transport of that gravel can impact on waterways, aquatic life, forestry and area residents.

Proponents of in-river gravel mining claim that gravel removal will help prevent flooding in the Lower Fraser Valley.  Opponents counter that removal of easily reached gravel does nothing to reduce flood risk and harms spawning habitat of salmon and endangered white sturgeon.  Indeed a gravel mining incident at Big Bar in 2006 resulted in the death of some two million incubating pink salmon.  Problems over consultation with the Cheam First Nation with regard to traditional land uses and fish habitat lead to plans for in-river gravel mining being abandoned for 2013.

In 2004 the Minister of State for Mines started the FVRD Aggregate Pilot Project (APP) in an attempt to resolve conflicts around gravel mining in the region.  Since then the APP process itself has come under fire from the public for lack of transparency and public input and from industry for “infiltration of special interest groups”.

Some fear that the APP, if approved, could lead to risks of foreign control of water and forest resources through a mining licence ‘back door’.  Clearly the conflict between concerns of local people vs powers of the provincial government highlights once again the need for local control over home waters.

For WaterWealth’s first Lunch & Learn, Watershed Watch Fisheries Biologist Stan Proboszcz and FVRD Area C Director Wendy Bales spoke on the gravel mining issue.

Reflect:
Take some time to think about your connection to BC’s water. Whether you appreciate this water as the life-blood of nature, as an essential component of human lives and health, or as a necessity for a strong economy, we want see the personal connections connected to this vital resource and the numerous reason why it is so worth protecting.

Share:
Show your lake, wetland, glacier, river – any water body in BC! – you care, by snapping a photo of you with your “loved one”!

Upload a photo to Instagram or tweet it to us @CanadaWaterWeek! Whichever method you choose, be sure to tag it with #canh2o. Instagramers, be sure to enable the “Add to your Photo Map” feature and remember to name your body of water to ensure your photo appears on a Canada-wide map! Your images will be showcased at the Downtown Vancouver Public Library on Friday March 22, 2013!

Learn:
Chat with several local environmental groups about the numerous water issues in BC. These environmental groups will set up tables at the event and will be happy to answer any questions you may have about our water resources.

Mingle:
Conclude Word Water Day by joining us at the Library Square Pub for a festive evening of informal water-related discussion, networking and collaboration.