The man who chaired the 2013/14 Canadian Environmental Agency review panel that looked into the Site C dam says he's pleased the mega-project is finally getting the independent review the committee recommended.
Harry Swain says his committee had limited scope to look into the project, but made a number of recommendations, including the principle one that the BC Utilities commission should look at the economics and finances associated with Site C. That didn't happen.
But Swain is pleased to hear the project will be reviewed now:
"We'll I'm delighted that they're finally doing it. I wish it had happened a few years ago. Ideally it should have happened before the environmental review. But the only thing that was done back then was a feasibility study which was,umm, pretty superficial. "
Swain isn't sure why the government refused to send the project for review, but suspects they didn't want to hear the answers that a good, hard review by lawyers and accountants at the Utilities Commission would give it.
Swain's panel found up to 16 irreversible environmental consequences of going ahead with Site C, including the loss of rare plants, and serious impacts on animal life like moose, elk, and migratory birds. s
But he says some issues were beyond the scope of the Environmental review, the cost of alternatives, the need for the power, load forecast, as well as serious questions about how BC Hydro was going to finance the dam, the impact on rates, and the impact on provincial debt management.