Solutions
Mineral Tenure Act
Special treatment for B.C.’s mining sector needs to end immediately. B.C.’s Mineral Tenure Act urgently must be modernized to include First Nations and environmental consultations and accommodations before staking claims can be made. Mineral tenure claims should not be granted if they conflict with existing special management zones or approved land use plans. Mineral tenure staking on private land should only be permitted with consent from the landowner. Following the lead of other provinces and updating our Mineral Tenure Act will reduce conflict with First Nations and environmental groups, save money for the province, and provide a more secure business environment for the mining sector.
Fracking
Sierra Club BC is calling on the B.C. government to consult and involve First Nations and impacted communities and to initiate a comprehensive science-based public inquiry of fracking impacts. Local residents in the Dawson Creek area are also calling for a public inquiry into the health impacts of fracking. They have the support of public health officials, including medical health officer Dr. Charl Badenhorst of the Northern Health Authority, who is asking for proper tracking and surveillance to be put in place to determine whether B.C.'s gas fields are a health hazard.
Worldwide, communities are mobilizing to take action to stop fracking as a result of its many environmental and health impacts. After extensive public concern, Quebec has instituted a temporary moratorium on fracking. Many communities in New Brunswick are pushing for either a moratorium or an all-out fracking ban.
The B.C. government needs to take a huge step back from its aggressive pursuit of unconventional gas and fracking to allow time to better understand the impacts, and to keep B.C.’s northeast from becoming a fragmented wasteland of gas wells. B.C.'s fracking practices must respect indigenous rights and protect our fresh water and the health of northern residents.
Power Projects
Site C Dam
Sierra Club BC believes that B.C. should make energy efficiencies and expansion of low-impact sustainable energy sources a top priority. The need for the controversial Site C dam remains unproven. B.C.'s top energy priority right now should be to develop a full provincial framework for future energy development, before any final decisions are made on Site C. The first step should be to examine -- and plan to implement -- every single conservation opportunity available.
Private Power Projects
The public is told that we need private power because B.C. has an electricity shortage, but an examination of the facts shows this is not the case. According to B.C. Stats, we have been a net exporter of electricity for seven out of the last 11 years. BC Hydro itself says conservation measures can fully meet B.C.'s energy needs until 2026.
B.C.’s energy needs can be met primarily through conservation and demand-side management. Where new energy is required, we support low-impact green renewable energy projects on an individual basis. When properly sited, with attention paid to location size to minimize the ecological footprint, these projects can create clean renewable energy. B.C. has a role to play in helping other jurisdictions make the transition to clean, green power. In the process, we must ensure that we preserve wilderness areas that play a critical role in storing carbon and which are crucial for ensuring that plant and animal species can adapt to the changing climate.
As BC speeds up development of cleaner, carbon-neutral energy, we need a thoughtful, comprehensive and publicly acceptable template to assess the full environmental footprint of new power proposals. Any cumulative impacts assessment for “run of river” power projects must address the impact that multiple river diversions, roads, blasting, transmission lines and staging areas have on our land base and wildlife. A cumulative impacts assessment will only be meaningful if our environmental assessment process has teeth through a strengthened environmental assessment act. We also must set limits on the appropriate scale of a “green power” project. Notably, California’s limit is 30 megawatts, in contrast to Bute Inlet's proposed 1,000 megawatts. Rights to use our rivers and public land must also be granted through open public processes.
Local communities must have a say in the location of power projects. Sierra Club BC does not support energy projects in parks or protected areas, with the exception of appropriately-sized and properly-sited run of river projects in Great Bear Rainforest conservancies, supplying energy for local uses. We do not support any alteration of any park boundaries to accommodate independent power projects.
