High rate of non-compliance by independent power producers: internal memos

VANCOUVER – Internal B.C. government documents show a startling number of compliance issues with the province’s independent power producers.

The documents, distributed under Freedom of Information laws, also say the province doesn’t have the staff to monitor the projects.

Among the documents obtained by the Wilderness Committee is a memo circulated within the Natural Resources Ministry that says 90 per cent of projects as of September 2011 had incidents and non-compliance with environmental standards.

Of the dozens of independent power projects that had been built at the time, 45 per cent had permit or legislative non-compliance, said the email.

Other projects had incidents that occurred during construction or during commissioning and operations, ranging in severity from potentially stranding fish during water diversion to failing to leave behind enough water in diverted rivers and streams.

Gwen Barlee of the Wilderness Committee says the situation could only have grown worse in the past 18 months, with cuts to the federal Fisheries Department and legislative changes that have eased environmental oversight.