Overview
The Kwoiek Creek Hydroelectric Project is a 50 MW, run-of-river project located on the lower reaches of Kwoiek Creek, a tributary to the Fraser River, approximately 14 km south of Lytton, British Columbia. The Project will include a water diversion and intake facilities, a buried penstock and a powerhouse located on Kanaka Bar Indian Band's Whyeek IR No. 4 near Lytton. The Project will also include an approximately 80 km long, 138-kV transmission line to transmit electricity generated by the Project to the BC Hydro substation at Highland Valley.
The developer of the project is Kwoiek Creek Resources Limited Partnership (“KCRLP”), a partnership between the Kanaka Bar Indian Band (“KBIB”) and Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (Innergex).
KCRLP obtained an Energy Purchase Agreement (EPA) from B.C. Hydro in August 2006. In March 2009, the Project received an Environmental Assessment (EA) Certificate following the completion of a provincial and federal review led by the BC Environmental Assessment Office (BCEAO). The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) Screening Report was issued in September 2009 and a favourable CEAA decision was made on October 5, 2009. The water licence and crown land tenures were issued in September 2011 and August 2011, respectively. Construction of the access for the Project commenced in June 2011.
The information contained in this website is intended to provide potential stakeholders and interested parties with an overview of the Project proponent; history, scope, and schedule of the Project; and the Project’s environmental assessment process.
Map
Click to enlarge
Environmental Assessment and Regulatory Processes
The Project was subject to review under both the BC Environmental Assessment Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Pursuant to the Canada-British Columbia Agreement for Environmental Assessment Cooperation, a coordinated, cooperative assessment of the Project by provincial and federal agencies was conducted.
The Amended Application for a Project Approval Certificate was submitted to the BCEAO and formally accepted on September 11, 2008, initiating the 180-day BCEAO review process. KCRLP engaged First Nation communities, local governments and other stakeholders to provide them with information on the Project and to identify their interests and potential concerns. This included several open houses and online review/commenting (www.kwoiekcreekhydro.com). The 45-day public comment period was from September 19, 2008 until midnight on October 14, 2008.
The BCEAO Assessment Report, completed on March 10, 2009, concluded the project is not likely to have significant adverse effects, based on the mitigation measures and commitments included as conditions of the EA Certificate. On March 18, 2009, Environment Minister Barry Penner and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Blair Lekstrom made the decision to grant an EA Certificate after considering the review led by the BCEAO. The provincial EA Certificate for the Project contains 74 commitments that must be implemented throughout various stages of the project.
Key commitments include the following:
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Providing fish passage around the diversion structure.
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Maintaining in-stream flows to protect fish and fish habitat.
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Developing mitigation/compensation, access management and monitoring plans in consultation with regulatory agencies.
Following a review conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Transport Canada, the Federal Responsible Authorities, the CEAA Screening Report was issued in September 2009, and a favourable CEAA decision was made on October 5, 2009.
In addition to the environmental assessment process, a number of Project related permits, licences or approvals will be required from:
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Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
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Fisheries and Oceans Canada
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Transport Canada
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Environment Canada
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BC Ministry of Environment
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BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
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BC Ministry of Forests
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BC Hydro and BCTC
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Canadian Pacific Railway
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Integrated Land Management Bureau
Information regarding the environmental assessment process is available at www.eao.gov.bc.ca.
Stakeholder Consultation
KCRLP has engaged First Nation communities, local governments and other stakeholders to provide them with information on the Project and to identify their interests and potential concerns. Consultation of the Amended Application occured through:
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Open Houses
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Online Review/Commenting
Open Houses were held from 4pm-8pm (presentations at 7pm) at the following locations:
Monday, September 22, 2008
Canyon Lanes Bowling Alley
47585 Trans Canada Hwy., Boston Bar, B.C.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Lytton First Nations Memorial Hall
918 Main St., Lytton, B.C.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Community Hall
4943 Potatoeillshie Rd., Shackan IR #11, Hwy 8, Merritt, B.C.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Shulus Hall, Lower Nicola Indian Band
#85 Hwy 8 West, Merritt, B.C.
Notification to stakeholders of future open houses will be provided through direct mailing or advertisement in local and regional publications.
An electronic copy of the Application and information regarding the environmental assessment process are available at www.eao.gov.bc.ca. Copies of the Application are also available for viewing at these locations:
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Canyon Lanes Bowling Alley - 47585 Trans Canada Hwy., Boston Bar, BC
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Corporation of Village of Lytton - 380 Main St, Lytton, BC
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Lytton First Nations Band Office - 951 Main Street, Lytton, BC
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Shackan Indian Band Office - 2160 Settler's Rd., Merritt, BC
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Merritt Public Library - 1691 Garcia St., Merritt, BC
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Lower Nicola Indian Band Office - #181 Nawishaskin Rd., Merritt, BC
KCRLP is committed to ongoing consultation with stakeholders to address potential issues through avoidance, mitigation or accommodation.
First Nation
Kwoiek Creek Resources Limited Partnership (KCRLP) recognizes that the Kwoiek Creek Hydro Project falls wholly within the asserted traditional territory of the Nlaka’pamux Nation. The 16 present day communities plus the two tribal councils are shown in the table below. The Nlaka’pamux do not have a signed treaty nor do they participate in or are otherwise engaged in a comprehensive claim or treaty process.
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Spuzzum First Nation
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Boston Bar First Nation
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Boothroyd Indian Band
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Kanaka Bar Indian Band
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Siska Indian Band
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Skuppah Indian Band
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Lytton First Nation
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Nicomen Indian Band
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Cooks Ferry Indian Band
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Oregon Jack Creek
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Ashcroft Indian Band
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Shackan Indian Band
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Nooaitch Indian Band
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Lower Nicola Indian Band
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Upper Nicola Indian Band
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Coldwater Indian Band
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Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council
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Nicola Tribal Association
Project History with the Nlaka’pamux
In 1990, the Kanaka Bar Indian Band (Kanaka) submitted to the Province of British Columbia a water license application to develop the hydro electric potential of the Kwoiek Creek water resources. Over the course of the next decade, Kanaka informed the Nlaka’pamux of its community intentions and collected information in regards to existing lands and resources to be used and considered the proposed projects potential impacts on the same. Kanaka focused on 6 assessment areas: heritage, health, social, environmental, economic and cumulative effects.
In 2001, KBIB hand delivered to the16 Nlaka’pamux communities and two tribal councils a two volume Project Approval Certificate Application. With the assistance of the EAO, a six month public review of the proposed projects reports and potential impacts was conducted. This ended in September with a Project Specifications Report, meaning more work needed to be done.
In 2004, KBIB partnered with Innergex to form Kwoiek Creek Resources Limited Partnership (KCRLP) to address the project report specifications and to continue moving the project along through the development phase.
In 2007, KCRLP asked the Nlaka’pamux to participate in a First Nations Advisory Group (FNAG) primarily to provide advice and guidance to KCRLP for conducting traditional use and archaeology studies for the projects transmission line and to develop a coordinated strategy for a review of a revised project application.
In 2008, KCRLP submitted a two volume Amended Application to the EAO showing a now much smaller project size with a revised transmission line route. Kanaka hand delivered the Amended Application to the Nlaka’pamux and a 6 month all inclusive public review ended with an Environmental Approval Certificate issued in March of 2009.
In 2009, Kanaka Bar membership formally approved the use of reserve and watershed lands for project purposes and KCRLP asked for Participation Agreements from the Nlaka’pamux communities directly impacted by new construction of the transmission line.
In 2010, technical committees for Fisheries, Heritage and Terrestrial mitigation and compensation plans were created for moving the project forward and a nationwide meeting was held on August 23, 2010. By the end of September 2010 had KCRLP received signed Nlaka’pamux Participation Agreements and a Nationwide Celebration of achievement was held at the Nicomen Hall on October 15, 2010.
In 2011, KCRLP selected two general contractors to build the project (CRT doing Civil Works and Westpark Electric doing the Transmission Line) and at a nationwide meeting held on April 29, 2011, where the two contractors were introduced to the Nlaka’pamux. Job and subcontracting fairs were then held at Kanaka (June 3), Siska (June 4) and at Lower Nicola (June 7). CRT’s equipment began arriving on site in August and preliminary ground clearings works on Kanaka Indian Reserve lands commenced. In October, an Nlaka’pamux Implementation and Compliance Committee (ICC) was started to verse the project and on December 15, 2011, a ground breaking ceremony was held. The following link to global TV coverage is available (starts at 2:07 minutes).
In 2012, the project will move forward with full construction and the Nlaka’pamux ICC will continue to meet, conduct site visits and review and comment on the many written reports prepared by the contractors, KCRLP and the independent monitors and engineers to ensure that every effort is been made to do the Kwoiek Creek Hydro project right.
On-going Consultation
KCRLP is committed to on-going consultation with First Nations through the project review and construction phase. On December 16, 2009, KCRLP invited representatives from the 16 member bands, as well as agency representatives, to participate on the Terrestrial, Heritage and Fisheries Committees. The committees are a forum for continued sharing of technical and heritage information related to the Project; to ensure that the interests of First Nations and agencies are considered in the on-going development of the Project.
The dates for the kick-off meetings for each of the Committees were as follows:
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Terrestrial Committee - January 12, 2010
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Heritage Committee - January 13, 2010
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Fisheries Committee - February 10, 2010
Access to documents (including various studies, reports and management plans) is available to Committee representatives. Subsequent meetings dates and comment periods will be defined by Committee representatives. Invitations to subsequent meetings will be issued to representatives of the 16 member bands.
The second meeting for each of the Committees was as follows:
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Fisheries Committee Meeting No. 2 - March 4, 2010, 10 am to 4 pm, at the Lytton First Nation's Boardroom, 951 Main Street, Lytton, BC.
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Terrestrial Committee Meeting No. 2 - March 11, 2010, 10 am to 4 pm, at the Nicomen Band Office. Heritage Committee Meeting No. 2 - March 18, 2010, 10 am to 4 pm, at the Nicomen Band Office.
A joint Fisheries, Terrestrial and Heritage Committee Meeting was also held on April 3, 2011, to provide an update on Project developments.
The Terrestrial, Heritage and Fisheries Committees will end once the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP), Access Management Plan (AMP), Operations Environmental Management Plan (OEMP), Mitigation and Compensation Plan (MCP), and Archaeological Monitoring and Management Plan (AMMP) are finalized. These three Committees will be replaced by the Implementation and Compliance Committee (ICC), which will oversee the implementation of the management plans during the construction phase.
Information to First Nations has been distributed through Open Houses, newsletters, direct correspondence, and the project web site. Requests for meetings with the proponent will be accommodated.
Front pagehttp://www.innergex.com/sites/documents/pdf/com-091214-ine_e.pdf
Front pagehttp://www.innergex.com/sites/documents/pdf/ine-ra_08_e.pdf
