Read this report from The Vancouver Sun on the announcement of the joint federal and provincial panel review of the proposed Site C Dam in Northeast BC. (Feb 14, 2012)
The federal and provincial environment ministers announced Monday that they intend to conduct a joint environmental assessment of BC Hydro’s proposed Site C dam on the Peace River.
The joint assessment is aimed at eliminating duplication and speeding up the review process, B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake said in an interview.
“We believe in the one project-one process approach. We don’t want to see a duplication by federal and provincial agencies on one project,” Lake said.
He said the joint approach will cost less and reduce the amount of time involved.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been critical of lengthy reviews for energy projects, specifically over Enbridge’s North Gateway pipeline proposal, which is currently before a review panel.
Lake said the joint assessment process will be conducted parallel to consultations with first nations. The joint assessment process is new but the Site C project is not the first one on which the two agencies have combined their review processes. Joint environmental assessments are already underway for two B.C. mining projects, the Ajax copper-gold mine proposal near Kamloops and the Raven coal mine proposal near Campbell River, Lake said.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Province+announce+joint+environmental+review+Site/6147129/story.html