Site C ruling upheld

Photo: Contributed

British Columbia's highest court has ruled against the Peace Valley Landowner Association in its continuing fight against BC Hydro's Site C hydroelectric project in northeastern B.C.

The Association hoped to overturn a lower court order that rejected a judicial review of Site C's environmental assessment certificate.

In a unanimous ruling, the B.C. Court of Appeal says the ministries of environment and forestry can issue a certificate for the mega project without considering all 50 recommendations contained in an environmental assessment report.

The Peace Valley Landowner Association argued Section 17 of the Environmental Assessment Act requires consideration of all recommendations of a hearing panel before a certificate is issued.

But the high court says the ministers made no error because four of the recommendations in the Site C report dealt with future government regulation of BC Hydro and were not the sort of instruction covered by the act.

Critics of the $8.8-billion dam along the Peace River say it will flood lands in traditional First Nations territory and create an 83-kilometre long reservoir that will wipe out farms and ranches.