Renewable Power Corporation's Tyson Creek hydro project, which the company shut down in late March in the wake of an environmental problem, has now been up and running for two months.
A February sediment slide into Tyson Lake - which feeds the project - and two ensuing releases of sediment-laden water, which flowed down Tyson Creek into the salmon-producing Tzoonie River, triggered concern from conservationists and regulators about possible impacts to fish and fish habitat. The project stopped producing power entirely in late March, and the company has been working with the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and Department of Fisheries and Oceans to resolve the problem and assess any environmental impacts.
On May 27, MoE authorized the company to resume operations, stipulating that the company carry out stringent water-turbidity monitoring and not draw the lake level down to below its normal seasonal level.
"We had to live up there," said co-owner Peter Schober, explaining that the company installed new automated water-monitoring equipment and sent up to 70 water samples a day to labs to be assessed.
But from the beginning, he said, the project was operating within water quality guidelines and within two weeks, sediment levels were "below detectable levels."
Currently, he said, turbidity monitoring continues 24-7 at four points along the project.
Right now, he said, the company is carrying out hundreds of thousands of dollars of studies as part of a report on the sediment event, and is also working on a revised operating plan for MoE.
In an e-mail, the Ministry said it won't lift the operating limitations before seeing a plan "that documents how and why altered or resumed operations would prevent unacceptable environmental and water quality impacts."
Schober said that while the lake-level condition isn't a problem while the lake is full of rain and snowmelt, it will hit the company's bottom line if that condition isn't lifted by winter. The limitation, he said, wouldn't stop power production, but could lower output by up to 25 per cent. As a businessman, he said, he's eager to get an approved plan in place by winter, but should that not occur, "so be it."
"We'll keep it down and do whatever's required until everybody signs off on the plan," he said.
He added that it's during winter months, when the provincial power supply drops seasonally as rivers run low, that the Tyson project's lake model provides what most hydroelectric projects can't: a way to offset the province's wintertime use of "dirty" power from oil and gas.
Dan Bouman, executive director of the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association (SCCA), which raised concerns about the project this year, said the SCCA currently has no current concerns about operations at Tyson.
"It was basically the lack of responsibility about drawing the lake down that created the problem and they've lost that right," he said. "So right now the facility is running and the water is running clean, so at the moment there's no problem as far as we're concerned."
Bouman remains critical of regulators involved, however. He said he fears they wouldn't have stepped in to resolve the Tyson problem if it weren't for public complaints and pressure.
"It's very sad that [regulators] don't aggressively go out and protect the resources of the province," he said.
