The B.C. Liberals can expect to field tough questions on run-of-river "green" power projects when the legislature reconvenes for the fall sitting on October 15.

According to NDP environment critic Shane Simpson, he and fellow NDP MLAs want to start asking questions of the B.C. Liberals on water licences, planning, economics, and the scale of power-generation projects B.C. Hydro has tendered out to independent power producers.

"We will look for opportunities to use question period and other tools in the legislature to get at these issues," Simpson said.

Simpson, MLA for Vancouver-Hastings, said he has toured the Ashlu River project in the Squamish Valley and was alarmed by the scale of what he calls a "massive project". He is also concerned about a plan to divert eight streams in a separate project in the upper Pitt River Valley.

"The upper Pitt project is a massive project," Simpson said, adding that there are "in excess of 500" water-licence applications pending in B.C.–all of them related to run-of-river. Simpson also said he understands there are about 50 run-of-river projects provincewide awaiting approval by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office. (He noted that a water-licence application does not always lead to a completed run-of-river project, as many applications do not meet criteria or are withdrawn before proceeding to the next stage.)

"There is no planning for cumulative impact and no assessment of which rivers are appropriate for this use versus which rivers should be saved for habitat, recreational uses, and for other uses," Simpson said. "It is like the Wild West or the gold rush."

Vancouver's Northwest Cascade Power Inc.–a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta-based Run of River Power Inc.–is applying for EAO approval to develop the eight-stream cluster (with seven powerhouses) in the upper Pitt River area. It is in the riding of Port Coquitl–Burke Mountain, whose three-term NDP MLA, Mike Farnworth, told the Georgia Straight that one of the main reasons he got into politics in 1983 was for the "preservation and protection of Burke Mountain and Pinecone Lake". Now he has "a lot of questions that need answering" about the streams that the producer hopes will generate 161 megawatts of power.

"There are questions around some of the streams as they relate to fish-bearing, particularly on Boise Creek, and also the size of the project," Farnworth said. "Also, there are two potential power [line] routes: one would come down Pitt Lake and the other would go through Pinecone Burke Provincial Park.…There will definitely be questions around this [in the legislature] and we have raised it in the past."

Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows NDP MLA Michael Sather also expressed concern.

"I know that I am going to raise this [in Victoria]," Sather said by phone. "If we had a proper land-planning process for these IPPs, that would be something. I am sure some should get a green light, others should get a qualified green light, and there are others that should get a red light. And this one in the upper Pitt should get a red light."

Sather added: "The Pitt River is…a trout-bearing area and a scenic wild river. Although there is logging in the area, it is nestled in amongst the coastal mountains and is a spectacular area there."

Sather said there are a number of "problems" with the fact the streams will be diverted a long distance down their penstocks, adding that there are implications for fish habitats in the area, some of which he claimed lie above the generating station and could be disrupted.

A Straight request for a response from B.C. environment minister Barry Penner to the concerns of the three MLAs went unanswered. However, his critic across the floor said he will not let the issue slide. Simpson said he speculates there could be a danger that bigger polluters–such as those from the oil and gas sectors–may start buying up IPPs and writing their greenhouse-gas emissions off against them.

"If that occurs, you would have a situation where these oil and gas companies would have to continue business as usual; they would write down their emissions against the green power of the run-of-the-river," he said.