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9TuesdayDecember172013LTD.ByMEAGANWOHLBERGOfcialswiththeAlbertagovernmentandParksCan-adaarevoicingconcernoverthepotentialimpactsofBCHydrosproposed7.9-bil-lionSiteCdamonthePeaceRiverwhichtheysayposesthreatslikefloodingin-creasedmercurylevelsinshanddryingoutthePeaceAthabascaDelta.Hearingsforthethirdhy-droelectricprojectonthePeacebeganinFortSt.JohnBClastweekwith20-pluspagedwrittensubmissionscomingfrombothAlbertasdepartmentofEnvironmentandSustainableResourceDevelopmentESRDandWoodBuffaloNationalParkinnortheasternAlberta.BCHydrosW.A.C.BennettandPeaceCanyondamshavealreadysignicantlyalteredtheowoftheriverintoAl-bertasaybothsubmissionswhichrequestthehydrocom-panydomoretoinvestigateandmitigatethepotentialneg-ativedownstreamimpactsofanotherdam.AsSiteCwillbe85kmclosertoAlbertatheimpactofowuctuationswillbefelt85kmfurtherdownstream.ThoughthedamhasthepotentialtohavepositiveimpactsontheecosystemrelatedtohigherowstheESRDdocumentsubmittedonNov.29expressesavari-etyofconcernswithpotentialoodingaswellasasuiteofproblemsstemmingfromlowowswhenthedamstoreswaterincludingstoppagestoferryserviceandcom-munitywaterintake.BCHydrosdamsonthePeaceRivergiveBCHydrosignicantcontroloverowsinthePeaceRiver.Relativelyshortduration1to2daysdecisionsaboutowreleasesfromthesedamscanproducelowowpulsesthatcanbedetecteddownstreamallthewaytothePeaceAthabascaDeltareadstheESRDsubmission.ThedownstreamimpactstoAlbertaofthesepulseswilldependonthelengthoftimeofthesepulsesandondown-streamtributaryowcondi-tionswhichvaryseasonallyandannually.Itisthecombi-nationofextendeddurationlowowreleasedecisionsbyBCHydroandlownaturaldownstreamtributaryinowthatareofgreatestconcerntoAlberta.ESRDalsolistsconcernswiththeeffectsonsheriesincludingshiftsinwatertem-peraturesthatcouldimpactspawningthetotalblockageofupstreamshmigrationhydro-peaking-whichcausesdirectmortalitytoshbystrandinganddewa-teringeggs-andanincreaseinmercurylevels.AlbertaacknowledgesthatBCHydroexpectsincreasesinMeHgmethylmercurylevelsinfishpopulationsdownstreamoftheAlberta-BCbordertobetemporaryandwithinshconsumptionguidelines.Howeveritisun-clearwhetherAlbertansareawareofthisincreasetheamountoftheincreaseandthedurationoftheimpactstatesthedocument.TheresultcouldbemorerestrictivefishingonthePeaceRiverstatestheprovince.OfcialswithWoodBuf-faloNationalParkofferedsim-ilarconcernstothepanelask-ingthatcumulativeimpactsofallthreePeaceRiverdamsonthePeace-AthabascaDeltabetakenintoconsiderationwhenreviewingtheproject.The33-pagesubmissionfromWoodBuffalossuperin-tendentRobKentstatesboththeBennettandPeaceCan-yondamshavesignicantlyalteredtheood-dependentdeltaecosystem80percentofwhichislocatedwithintheparksboundaries.Thereportarguesthatoodeventsareneededtollthehighestperchedbasinslakesandwetlandsintheatdeltaarea.Becausepeakwaterlevelsontheriversarenotsufcienttoreplenishthosehigh-levelbasinsoverbankowsgeneratedbyice-jamsduringspringbreak-uparerequired.AccordingtoParksthoseoodeventshavebeendecreasingbecauseofup-streamhydro.Ice-jamoodshavebeeninfrequentsincethePeaceRiverowhasbeenregulatedresultinginonlytwoperiodsofextensivedelta-wideood-inginthe45yearssincetheBennettDamwascompletedstatesParkssubmission.Kentstatesthattheecologyofthedeltaischangingdra-maticallywhichisaffectingFirstNationcommunitiesinthedeltaarea.Localpeoplearereport-ingthatchangingplantcom-munitieswaterlevelsandusebywildlifehaveaffectedtheirtraditionaluseofandconnectiontotheareathedocumentstatesnotingthatwetlandlosshasseenaneardisappearanceofmuskratfromthedelta.ParksCanadarecommendsthereviewpanelconsiderthefullrangeofdownstreamef-fectsuptoandincludingthedeltainitsanalysis.AlbertaParksconcernedwithimpactsofSiteCdamHearingsonthirdPeaceRiverhydroprojectbegininFortSt.JohnIllustrationcourtesyofBCHydroEnvironmentWatershedsBCHydrosproposedSiteCdamwouldbethethirdhydroprojectonthePeaceRiverleavingresidentsdownstreamconcernedwiththeimpactsoffurtherowregulation.MerryChristmasHappyNewYearfromallofusatTDCEmergencyServicePleasecall872-4567or872-2458forfurtherinformation.FORTSMITHNWTHolidayScheduleDec.24Dec.25Dec.26-27Dec.30Dec.31Jan.1CLOSEDAT300P.M.CLOSEDREGULARHOURSREGULARHOURSCLOSEDAT300P.M.CLOSED