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Garibaldi at Squamish project goes to ministers for decision, amid concerns over salmon and water
Vancouver Sun - May 19, 2010
By Scott Simpson
Proponents of a $2.9-billion ski resort near Squamish have failed to address fundamental questions about water supply, public safety and impact on vital populations of fish, according to a confidential document obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
The British Columbia environmental assessment office (EAO) on Tuesday referred its final report on the proposed Garibaldi at Squamish all-season ski-and-golf resort to Environment Minister Barry Penner and Tourism Minister Kevin Krueger.
Penner and Krueger have 45 days in which to make a decision on whether or not to allow the project to proceed -- and it appears that the B.C. Liberal government's verdict on the project will come down to politics, not science.
The Sun obtained a March 23, 2010, draft version of the assessment office's final report. It states that despite persistent requests, the resort's proponents have failed to provide enough information to earn the project a passing grade.
Rather than provide information about water supply, fisheries impacts, and design of large dams, the proponents are asking that Penner and Krueger approve their project forthwith -- suggesting that more detailed study will be undertaken at a later date.
The assessment office questions whether it has the authority to recommend such a move.
Two well-known B.C. families, the Gaglardis and the Aquilinis, are the leading proponents of the Garibaldi at Squamish project, which would be developed as a resort community similar to Whistler on 3,238 hectares of Crown land on Brohm Ridge, north of Squamish and Alice Lake provincial park.
The report says proponents were advised in 1998, 2003, and 2007 that they needed a water supply plan for the resort -- for drinking water, snow-making, firefighting and golf course irrigation.
The proponents have indicated they would rely on the Brohm Creek watershed to supply the resort. They propose to build several large reservoir dams -- up to 50 metres in height -- to store water diverted from Brohm.
A one-page hand-drawn sketch of "conceptual dam sections" was submitted to the assessment office by Thurber Engineering on behalf of the proponents last November.
The assessment report states that the proponents have failed to produce information demonstrating that the reservoir system would be sufficient to support the resort -- or that it would not compromise the stream flow and unique water chemistry that make Brohm one of the most productive salmonid streams in the province.
One year of stream flow measurement data has been provided to the assessment office -- but a second year's data, promised by the proponents last November, was not submitted.
Ideally, it takes 10 to 20 years worth of data to develop an accurate long-term profile of a stream's behaviour.
Brohm empties into the Cheakamus River, where fish populations were wiped out by a chemical spill after a CN freight train derailment in 2005, and the creek's health is considered essential to the projected two-decade recovery of the Cheakamus.
"The Brohm River is seen as a key component in steelhead recoveries. The additional impacts on fish and fish habitat from the proposed project are unclear and as a result, [the environmental assessment office] is unable to provide a clear conclusion on the risk of significant cumulative impacts to fish and fish habitat due to the proposed project," the office states in its report.
The proponents say they will provide more information after Penner and Krueger approve the project.
"This approach raises concerns regarding whether the EA [environmental assessment] Act requirements are being met and what regulatory mechanism would be used to ensure future studies are conducted to an acceptable standard," the assessment office says in its conclusion.
The report also expresses concern about the proponents' plan to construct five dams ranging from 20 to 50 metres in height to store water for the resort.
"All of the proposed dams would be classified as 'large' by international standards, and given that these dams would be upstream from proposed residential/commercial areas and the Sea to Sky Highway, it is likely the ... [consequences of a failure] would be very high from a public-safety perspective."
The assessment office takes note of what it calls "inaccuracies and inconsistencies" in the information submitted by the proponents. But even after seeking clarification, "the proponent's response has not alleviated EAO concerns."
George McKay, a spokesman for Garibaldi at Squamish, said in an interview Tuesday that the group feels it would be inappropriate to comment until the ministers make their decision.
Environment Minister Barry Penner was not available. In an e-mail, the ministry said it will not comment on the contents of the draft report, as the EAO will be providing the minister with the final version of the report, which may differ from the draft.
"If I were the environment minister I would turf this project, especially considering the province is in the middle of revising the Water Act," said Craig Orr, executive director Watershed Watch Salmon Society. "This seems totally inconsistent with the intent of modernizing the Water Act to provide some protection for fish and aquatic health."
Catherine Jackson, president of the Squamish Environmental Conservation Society, said such project proposals have "never been rejected by the environmental assessment office. If they did reject it, it would be historic," Jackson said.
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May 19 2010
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