Board members include three other BC Hydro directors, Concert Properties CEO David Podmore and Lorne Sivertson, an energy consultant and the author of a pro-Site C report for B.C. On December 11, 2017, the BC government committed to completing construction of the Site C hydroelectric dam. We’ve drafted a plan to make this year our biggest yet, but we need your support to make it all happen. The NDP ordered a regulatory review of the project — nearly $2-billion has already been spent on its construction — shortly after it formed a minority government in July. to pause work at Site C dam to review costs, geotechnical issues. A list of the meeting attendees is redacted, but the documents show a de-briefing was conducted with BC Hydro executives and project assurance board members on May 31, 2019. The failure to disclose the Muskrat Falls dam’s rising costs to ratepayers was a front-and-centre issue in Newfoundland, where the over budget dam on Labrador’s Churchill River will require a bail-out from federal taxpayers to avoid a minimum 50 per cent increase in provincial hydro rates. Our independent, ad-free journalism is made possible because the people who value our work also support it (did we mention our stories are free for all to read, not just those who can afford to pay?). It’s easy to feel like what we do doesn’t make any difference, but becoming a member of The Narwhal is one small way you truly can make a difference. BC Hydro also said it hasn’t figured out how to resolve grave geotechnical issues, which require shoring up the unstable foundation of the earthen dam, powerhouse and spillways. https://thenarwhal.ca/site-c-dam-geotechnical-problems-bc-government-foi-docs The other representative is Wanamaker, who in 2017 challenged the commission’s final findings about the Site C project in a six-page letter to the commission that seemed to suggest the new NDP government was searching for a rationale to continue the project. Dam has been affected by possible COVID-19 delays. It is a Shaftbury shale which was mud some 70 million years ago. during the COVID-19 pandemic? According to documents on BC Hydro’s website, the project assurance board is at the centre of Site C dam communications among BC Hydro’s board of directors, the energy ministry, and treasury board and/or the finance ministry. paint a picture of a project rife with growing geotechnical issues and risks as well as safety and quality concerns — and facing a rising risk of cost overruns and schedule delays — long before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the province and temporarily scaled back the Site C dam workforce in mid-March. On Sept. 12, 2019, nearly one year before the public learned of the project’s rising price tag, BC Hydro informed the assurance board that geotechnical risks were “likely,” potentially increasing costs and causing a schedule delay. Peace River – Site C Hydro Project Stage 2 Engineering Services Summary Report Page ix Report No. Dam spillway costs would increase materially due to design changes and reservoir clearing costs would be higher than allocated for in the budget, the assurance board also learned. McCullough said Milburn’s appointment underscores the problem of “who guards the guards.”, “Normally, in a construction project, you want as clean a chain of command as possible,” he said. It appears that they may not have.”. Photo: Jayce Hawkins / The Narwhal. (Donations to political parties by corporations and unions were banned in B.C. Now its $12-billion budget threatens to become a $15 billion to $20-billion mega-fiasco due to serious geotechnical problems. The amount of the increase is redacted from the documents, which show Nunn abstained from the vote due to his prior working relationship with Klohn Crippen. Two top B.C. following queue jumping allegation, Power restored to B.C. In the letter, the group also says a panel should look at all construction costs so far, as well as the final price to complete the megaproject. The technical advisory board also flagged the earthfill dam foundation and grouting as a significant risk. Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau says she was not aware of the commissioning of two additional geotechnical reports on Site C. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Horgan said Site C dam … Oct 15, 2020. As of July this year, more than 4,600 workers were employed on the Site C hydroelectric dam project, according to BC Hydro, about 3,400 of whom were British Columbians. “Such measure has positive precedent but meets with difficulties imposed by the geological and geotechnical conditions prevailing at Site C…” the board noted. Howe Institute, addressed to B.C.’s upcoming new government, says the case for the Site C dam is “getting weaker” and any meaningful cost increase makes cancellation the best choice. The core components of the dam are now in question due to the lack of, solid ground on which to anchor the dam structure, powerhouse and spillways —. Figure 4-3 Major Components of the Dam Site Figure 4-4 Potential Road and Bridge Access to Site C Dam Site Figure 4-5 Potential Route for 500 kV Transmission Figure 4-6 Topographical Differences between Site C-3, Site C-1 and Site C-2 Figure 4-7 Potential Dam Sites along the Peace River Figure 4-8 Potential Dam Sites near Fort St. John In 2017 and 2018, more than 10,000 earthquakes occurred in the wider area, including one that shook the Site C dam construction site in November 2018, forcing workers to evacuate. It’s bad public policy because you don’t have transparency.”. The site, in Swain’s words, is composed of, “relatively youthful and unpetrified sediments, some of which appear in the form of weak shales, mudstones, siltstones and some of which appear in the form of clay.”. The documents show MacLaren and Wanamaker were privy to a January 2018 report from the project’s technical advisory board that described construction schedules as “aspirational” and identified geotechnical stability issues as a risk that could further impede progress building the dam. For David Vardy, the retired chair of Newfoundland’s public utilities board, the Site C project’s lack of transparency and escalating costs create a sense of déjà-vu. Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner after BC Hydro missed a legal deadline for responding, we received 2,247 pages of documents almost seven months after filing the request. government officials knew in May 2019 that the Site c dam faced geotechnical problems due to its “weak foundation,” according to documents obtained by The Narwhal. Site C dam construction on the Peace River. 's ongoing response to COVID-19, Legal fight over Site C ends after agreement between province, BC Hydro and First Nation, Minister 'very concerned' by BC Hydro's latest Site C report, Worker at Site C camp tests positive for COVID-19: BC Hydro, Site C dam worker tests positive for COVID-19, BC Hydro says, ID of $60M winner in Winnipeg remains a mystery for now, Elephant herd frolics in the snow at a Tucson zoo, WATCH LIVE: Two NASA astronauts conduct spacewalk, Proof of residence to be required for vaccines in B.C. Credit: BC … , schedule delays and such profound geotechnical troubles that its overall health is now classified as “red” — meaning it is in serious trouble. It's estimated the dam could cost $12 billion, almost double the original estimate, and the letter warns geotechnical issues "will add immeasurably to the project's ballooning costs.". “By turning it 90 degrees, they thought they would avoid the problem. The documents show the Site C project had spent $3.5 billion of its budget by March 31, 2019. Key sections of the documents, including information pertaining to rising cost pressures and the severity of key project risks from January 2018 to January 2020, are redacted. That makes you some serious Narwhal material. Swain and others — including members of the Peace Valley Landowner Association and. Horgan previously called that report "profoundly disappointing." The severity and probability of those costs were redacted from the documents, along with contingency cost pressure items. government are responding to media questions during the provincial election campaign, unless inquiries pertain to health and safety or statutory requirements. “I think there’s an egregious problem with oversight on the two projects,” Vardy said in an interview. The Narwhal is ad-free, non-profit and supported by readers like you. 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