NewsAlert:Site C dam report says benefits of project are clear

VANCOUVER – The joint review panel weighing the future of the massive Site C hydro electric dam in northern British Columbia says the benefits of the project are clear.

In a report that gives no clear yes or no answer, the panel says there are significant adverse effects, but there are few alternatives to provide the kind of long-term energy source the dam would provide.

The report was submitted earlier this week and the provincial and federal governments have six months to make a decision.

The dam proposed by BC Hydro would be the third on the Peace River in northeastern B.C.

It would create a 9,330-hectare reservoir along 83 kilometres of the river, flooding about 5,550 hectares of land.

The dam is estimated to generate up to 1,100 megawatts of capacity — or enough to power the equivalent of 450,000 homes a year.

BC Hydro says it is a clean, cost-effective source of much-needed electricity for British Columbia, but opponents say it will cause irreparable harm to an important agricultural region.