BC Hydro has made an agreement with a northern city in B.C.
The company announced on Wednesday that they reached an agreement-in-principle on a Community Measure Agreement with Fort St. John for a clean energy project.
“This agreement is a direct result of our residents taking a pragmatic approach, regardless of their personal feelings, to join in on a conversation about how they felt the community would be impacted. The features of the agreement are based on those discussions, your concerns and your hopes. So now we bring this agreement to you and close the loop,” said mayor of Fort. St. John, Lori Ackerman.
Negotiations have been going on for several years between the City and BC Hydro about the construction of the Site C Clean Energy Project.
Under the terms of the legal agreement BC Hydro has to commit to certain mitigation measures important to Fort. St. John. These measures include providing $1 million every year to the City during the construction, $100,000 per year for eight years to a community fund to help non-profit agencies in the Peace Region, $250,000 to local non-profits to provide emergency and transitional housing services, and $75,000 this year to local charities picked by the City.
“We look forward to working closely with local and First Nations communities to maximize the economic opportunity for families in the Peace Region and BC," Rick Quigley, Peace River Hydro Partners said.
BC Hydro must also fund one police officer who will work out of Fort St. John. The new officer will do regular traffic monitoring on local roads near the project and construction site. The partnership will work through a Site C Community Agreement Monitoring Committee, which includes representatives from both BC Hydro and City staff members.
“BC Hydro appreciates the opportunity to work together with the City of Fort St. John to ensure a collaborative approach to mitigating impacts of the project and ensuring meaningful opportunities that benefit the residents of Fort St. John,” Jessica McDonald said, president and CEO of BC Hydro.
The city of Fort St. John is now talking with city residents about the agreement before signing it on their behalf.
