2001 Triple Bottom Line Report - BC Hydro

SEIP
S P E C I E S A T R I S K
Through our Strategic Environmental Initiatives Program (SEIP),
BC Hydro is identifying ways our activities affect threatened,
endangered and vulnerable species in B.C.
In areas where our facilities are located, expertise from across
our organization about species at risk is being consolidated
into one database. We can then analyze how the species
might be affected by our operations, and the biological factors
to be considered in developing recovery plans.
R E D U C I N G H I S T O R I C I M P A C T S
Three programs are in place in British Columbia to mitigate
historic impacts on fish and wildlife habitat resulting from the
construction of hydroelectric facilities. The programs were
BRIDGE COASTAL RESTORATION PROGRAM
The development of programs to compensate for historic
dam-building activity throughout B.C. was completed last
year with the establishment of the Bridge Coastal Restoration
Program. The program addresses historic impacts on fish and
wildlife habitat within fifteen south-coastal and south-central
B.C. watersheds affected by construction of our facilities in
the area. All of our hydro facilities are now included in programs
that compensate for historic impacts.
The primary goal of the program is to address impacts on fish
and wildlife. However, the program also allows for significant
First Nations, public and agency involvement, and aims to create
long-term value-added benefits for all. In this way, we hope to
increase the fairness, credibility and transparency of the program’s
decision-making processes, improve program results, and build
and maintain public support for our operations.
The inaugural nine-member board was appointed in January
2001 and is made up of three people representing each of the
general public, First Nations and government (including BC Hydro
The project is our first coordinated approach to examining issues
involving endangered or threatened species, including wildlife,
fish, birds, plants, reptiles and amphibians. The project is designed
to provide a better understanding of how our hydro system
interacts with species at risk, and what we can do to address
concerns about further decline or extinction of these species.
The project will produce recommendations for further
study and recovery plan considerations. It will also provide
species-at-risk information for project planning and
implementation, and ensure it is considered in our activities.
established by BC Hydro and the former Ministry of Environment,
Lands and Parks, and involve multistakeholder consultation on
research priorities, remediation projects and other related interests.
and government agencies). The board is now actively involved in
allocating program funds for this fiscal year.
The program, which provides $1.5 million in annual funding
for restoration projects, launched twenty-eight projects in its
first year using interim funding allocated prior to forming the
inaugural board. Its first action was a $250,000 contribution to
Nature Conservancy Canada to help purchase nearly 47 acres
of estuary land considered crucial to the ecosystem of Campbell
River on Vancouver Island.
The program also provided $80,000 to help convert the
Upper Seton spawning channel for year-round use by multiple
fish species, in cooperation with the Stl’atl’imx First Nation,
Cayoose Creek and Bridge River bands, Ainsworth Lumber
Company, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, former
B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways, and former B.C.
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. The two channels,
located downstream of Seton Dam, were originally operated
every two years as spawning habitat for pink salmon.
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