A BC Hydro executive vicepresident says she and her bosses see nothing wrong with her sitting on the corporate board of a major coal company. Dawn Farrell, BC Hydro's executive vice-president of generation, told the Straight that her employer had no objections after Calgary-based Fording Inc. phoned and "invited" her to compete for a position on the company's board of directors.

BC Hydro paid Farrell $252,818 in salary, bonuses, and benefits in the last fiscal year, according to the Crown corporation's annual statement of financial information. On May 6, Farrell was elected to the board of Fording Inc., which is an operating subsidiary of the publicly traded Fording Canadian Coal Trust. Fording Inc. directors are paid an annual cash retainer of $20,000, collect another $40,000 through a company investment each year, and receive $1,500 for each board meeting attended.

"If there was a direct relationship between Fording and the energy industry in B.C. that was clear and strong, I would not be on that board," Farrell said.

In 1999 and 2000, the Straight published two stories describing environmental groups' opposition to plans by Fording Coal Inc., the trust's precursor, to build a new coal-fired power plant in the Kootenays utilizing waste coal. According to one of the stories, the East Kootenay Environmental Society had obtained documents revealing that Fording Coal could enter into a 50-50 joint venture with Columbia Power Corporation, which is a little-known provincial Crown corporation. At the time, environmental lawyer Chris Rolfe of the West Coast Environmental Law Association told the Straight that such a project would be "environmentally unsustainable and economically unsustainable".

On August 10, Farrell told the Straight that if Fording revived that project, she would withdraw from any discussions concerning this issue at the Fording board or within BC Hydro. She added that about a year ago, Fording got rid of its thermal-coal assets, often used for power generation, and concentrated instead on metallurgical coal, which is used in the production of steel.

"If Fording still had their thermal-coal operations and were still pretty fundamentally involved in selling coal to the power industry for making power, I probably wouldn't have joined the board," Farrell said.

Rolfe told the Straight "it's a cause for concern" that a BC Hydro executive is on the board of Fording Inc. because company officials have previously been "very recalcitrant" and "very aggressive" in denying the reality of climate change.