From t.holzinger@netaxis.qc.ca Tue Jul 8 01:08:38 1997 Received: from mail.netaxis.ca (root@trifid-gate.netaxis.ca [207.96.187.114]) by lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id BAA25987 for ; Tue, 8 Jul 1997 01:08:05 -0400 (EDT) Received: from ppptty23.netaxis.qc.ca (ppptty18.netaxis.qc.ca [199.84.225.118]) by mail.netaxis.ca (8.8.5/8.6.9) with SMTP id BAA13529; Tue, 8 Jul 1997 01:15:33 -0400 Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 01:15:33 -0400 Message-Id: <2.2.16.19970708011831.2a2f9cfa@mailhost.netaxis.qc.ca> X-Sender: t.holzinger@mailhost.netaxis.qc.ca X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 2.2 (16) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit To: Brian Tokar From: Tom Holzinger Subject: Moisie River in Québec (long) Status: OR Brian and many friends, Here is a copy of what I sent to csdgen@nygate.undp.org and energy@ibix.com, two important energy lists in the United States (particularly New York State). Hope it's all right. Brian, I'll be asking for your comment on Wednesday. See you then. In the meantime, if you activists out there think that it is clear enough, please clip off this header and forward it to the various green lists you think appropriate. Thanks. Tom PLEASE POST AND CIRCULATE ACTION ALERT MOISIE RIVER (MISHTA SHIPU): KEEP IT WILD ENVIRONMENTALISTS ON FULL ALERT AGAINST HYDRO-QUÉBEC Montréal, 7 July 1997 Dear Fellow Environmentalists, As you know, here in Québec we have recently entered a period of high tension with Hydro-Québec and Québec's Ministry of Natural Resources. These agencies wish to leap headlong into the newly deregulated American market for electricity, including greatly expanding electricity production for export. This expansion is almost entirely predicated on damming and diverting more rivers, here in Québec and in Labrador. Especially urgent, Hydro-Québec is proceeding with its plans to divert the Aux Pékans and Carheil Rivers, tributaries of the Moisie River, into the neighbouring Sainte-Marguerite river valley where the water will be impounded by the Ste-Marguerite-3 (SM-3) dam and generating station, presently under construction. These diversions were first proposed and opposed in 1987. A full environmental hearing on the SM-3 project explicitly rejected the diversions in 1993, and only approved the main dam if it could be shown that the anticipated electricity was needed. The government of the day overruled the environmental assessment a few months later, approved the project without the economic justification, and allowed for the diversions to be approved at a later date if there were no grave anticipated impacts on the Atlantic salmon which breed there. On April 14 of this year, a joint federal-provincial salmon committee dismissed the opinions of numerous experts and advised the government that there would be no grave risks. The MEF (Environment Ministry) received this report and initiated the standard 60-day waiting period during which comments were to be made by interested parties, but the interested parties were not informed, leading to suspicions that the government wanted to slip this project past its critics. This suspicion has been further fueled by recent changes in HQ's and the government's timetables. At the beginning of the year they reassured critics that any construction would be years away and that there would be fresh environmental hearings before diversions were authorized. Two weeks ago HQ announced that it was speeding up construction of the SM-3 dam and power plant so that it could impound water and come on line in May 2001 instead of November 2001. On June 20 a spokesman told Le Devoir that HQ wanted the government to authorize the Carheil/Pékans diversions two weeks after the 60-day comment period, i.e. at any time after June 29. In response to a Freedom of Information request, Hydro-Québec confirmed on June 26 that it has written to both governments that it is "not necessary to ask for 'approval' of the diversions of the Carheil and Aux Pékans rivers, because the request for approval was already made in July 1991 as part of the whole project of hydroelectric development known as Sainte-Marguerite-3." Meanwhile, construction of the SM-3 project -- including a dam wall and a generating plant that can handle the extra Moisie water -- is proceeding on schedule. Last Thursday July 3 there was a strong unpleasant indication that the Québec government is likely to give HQ what it wants. After a fierce political battle both inside and outside its ranks, the cabinet approved the most scandalous dam project to date -- the damming and drying up of the Chaudière Falls near Québec City, a favourite tourist site. The private developer will bear no risk, because he has a contract guaranteeing a high fixed price for twenty years, while Hydro-Québec is obliged to purchase. The minister most opposed to the project, David Cliche of the MEF, was forced to go along after marathon meetings of the inner cabinet. He is the same minister who is now the last line of administrative defence against the diversions of the Moisie tributaries. It is very urgent to raise the alarm in international circles that Hydro-Québec has once again become an expansionist monster, planning for no fewer than eight major river diversions (including the Aux Pékans and Carheil of the Moisie, and the Great Whale and Rupert rivers of the James Bay region), a second mega-project at Churchill Falls in Labrador, the Chaudière project just described, and up to 50 similar small dam projects in southern Québec carried out by private promoters. IN EVERY CASE THE RATIONALE FOR THE DESTRUCTION IS THE SAME: TO INCREASE ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION FOR THE AMERICAN EXPORT MARKET. The ultimate goal? To become a very large continental unregulated energy company like Enron, "to become one of the four or five biggest players in North America," in the boastful words of CEO André Caillé. And if it cannot get all the water it wants, it has already started to talk about burning natural gas. This emerged from a story in today's La Presse, reporting a first-time but major collaboration between HQ and Enron to offer complementary natural gas and electricity supplies to New England. Thus the earlier hard-won policy of energy conservation and sustainability that was finally accepted by the previous government has been thrown away by the present one, carried out by stealth and decree rather than by public discussion and debate. OUR MESSAGE TO THE AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT IS THIS, THAT EVERY INCREASE IN HYDRO-QUÉBEC'S SALES TO THE U.S.A IS PAID FOR BY THE DESTRUCTION OF ANOTHER NORTHERN RIVER, LAKE, OR WATERFALL. There is nothing "clean" or "renewable" or "sustainable" about this Hydro-Québec policy of expansion. The best thing that our American friends can do on behalf of our shared planet is to block ALL imports of Québec hydroelectricity into the United States until we have won a decisive political victory here, i.e. that no additional wild river will ever be dammed or diverted. Please take this message to your local power company, to your state regulatory commission, to your state legislature, and to the local media. It may also be helpful to write to Minister David Cliche of the Ministry of Environment and Wildlife to ask him to reject any authorization of the Moisie diversions (see model below). It will certainly be helpful to raise the alarm in the United Sates that HQ is again trying to bring in additional amounts of hydro power for which more of the continent's remaining wild places will have to die. In doing so you will be acting in solidarity with the Québec environmental movement, Québec consumer groups, Hydro-Québec's unionized employees, and Québec's affected aboriginal people. These groups have formed a Coalition contre la dénationalisation de l'électricité which intends to roll back this disastrous policy in the course of the next 18-24 months. In the meantime the stakes are very high at the Carheil and Aux Pékans rivers, and we hope that you will able to spread the alarm. Thank you for your solidarity and support. On behalf of our common planet, Tom Holzinger member, steering committee, la Coalition contre la dénationalisation de l'électricité, Montréal, Québec Coalition web site: http://www.unites.uqam.ca/cese/energie/index.htm t.holzinger@netaxis.qc.ca tel/fax: 514-271-0564 * * * * * Letters and faxes for Minister David Cliche may be sent to: M. le ministre David Cliche Ministère de l'environnement et de la faune Édifice Marie Guyart, 30e étage 675 boulevard René Lévesque Est Québec, Québec Canada G1R 5V7 fax : 418-643-4143, tél : 418-643-8259 e-mail : david.cliche@mef.gouv.qc.ca With copies to: M. le premier ministre Lucien Bouchard Office du premier ministre, Gouvernement du Québec Édifice J, 3e étage 885 Grande Allée Québec, Québec Canada G1A 1A2 fax : 418-643-3924, tél : 418-643-5321 * * * * * Model letter in French (an English one follows): M. le ministre David Cliche Ministère de l'environnement et de la faune Édifice Marie Guyart, 30e étage 675 boulevard René Lévesque Est Québec, Québec Canada G1R 5V7 télécopieur : 418-643-4143, tél : 418-643-8259 courrier électronique : david.cliche@mef.gouv.qc.ca Cher M. le ministre, Nous avons récemment appris par les médias qu'Hydro-Québec envisage de nouveau le détournement des rivières Carheil et Aux Pékans vers la centrale Sainte-Marguerite-3. Nous nous opposons à un tel détournement. Parce que le fait qu'Hydro-Québec n'a pas soumis un avis de projet sur ces détournements, nous amènent à croire que la société d'État entend soumettre sa demande quant à ces deux rivières directement au Conseil des ministres, dans le cadre de l'autorisation du projet Sainte-Marguerite-3 (décret 298-94). Nous aimerions vous rappeler les conclusions du « Rapport d'enquête et d'audience publique » de juin 1993 concernant « l'Aménagement hydroélectrique Sainte-Marguerite-3 » qui recommandaient fortement que le projet SM-3 ne comprenne pas le détournement des tributaires de la rivière Moisie vers la rivière Ste-Marguerite. Dans son rapport, la Commission conclut, d'une part, que ce projet devrait être envisagé seulement si le besoin de l'énergie à produire était démontré par une évaluation indépendante. D'autre part, un aménagement hydroélectrique de la rivière Ste-Marguerite, sans le détournement des tributaires de la rivière Moisie, pourrait être acceptable socialement et s'avérerait à moindre risque environnemental. De plus, d'après ce rapport, le projet n'aurait été justifié que si les besoins énergétiques du Québec l'avaient exigé. Aujourd'hui, il est loin d'évident que cette centrale est justifiée, et encore moins des nouveaux détournements. Selon le dernier document de planification d'Hydro-Québec, « Tant en énergie qu'en puissance, aucun nouveau moyen ne serait requis avant 2004-2005. » (L'équilibre énergétique : Rapport particulier au 31 décembre 1996, p. 25). Vous avez, dans le passé, indiqué votre engagement à ce que les questions entourant les développements hydroélectriques se fassent sans un contexte de transparence et de respect mutuel. Vous avez également indiqué votre ouverture à la possibilité que la Moisie soit reconnu comme rivière patrimoniale, dans le cadre d'un programme de classification de rivières, tel que prévu par le rapport du débat public de l'énergie et de la politique gouvernementale qui en découlait -- ce qui deviendrait impossible si le gouvernement autorisait ces détournements. Nous vous demandons donc de ne pas recommander au Conseil de ministres d'autoriser les détournements des rivières Carheil et Aux Pékans. Veuillez agréer, monsieur le Ministre, l'expression de nos sentiments distingués. * * * * * Model letter as suggested by John Clark of Vermont: Minister David Cliche Ministry of the Environnement and Wildlife Marie Guyart Buiding, 30th floor Québec, Québec Canad G1R 5V7 fax: 418-643-4143, tel: 418-643-8259 e-mail: david.cliche@mef.gouv.qc.ca Dear Minister Cliche, We are writing to express our alarm and indignation over Hydro-Québec's intentions to divert the Aux Pékans and Carheil rivers, tributaries of the world-famous Moisie River, into the Sainte-Marguerite-3 dam now under construction. A decision by the government of Québec to approve this diversion project would go against world opinion and would subvert the earlier environmental assessment process -- the first in HQ's history -- in which all sectors of the public condemned the proposal. First, the environmental review board found in 1993 that HQ's energy demand forecasting was seriously flawed. HQ has always failed to prove that there is any need for another giant hydroelectricity facility. Second, many relevant environmental studies had not been carried out. And finally, the review board found that HQ's studies of the Moisie river salmon were grossly inadequate and recommended that the Moisie diversions not be approved. Hydro-Québec subsequently submitted a two-year study of salmon impacts to a joint commission, which recently concluded that the impacts would be insignificant. However, numerous fishery experts disagree. HQ used the Snake River in Idaho as a model for "regulated flow" management. But in fact the historic salmon runs on the Snake River are now a thing of the past. "Regulated flow" has been a failure. The Snake River sockeye salmon has recently been declared an endangered species, and the primary cause is stated to be -- HYDROELECTRIC DAMS. Finally, the aboriginal Innu people, who have never ceded their land to any government, are intricately connected to the Moisie and its salmon. It is the Innu's "Great River". To risk the death of the salmon run on this river is to gamble away the survival of the Innu people and their age-old culture. The Ste-Marguerite-3 project was the first Hydro-Québec to go through public hearings. Now HQ has attempted to remove the debate from the public sphere and to confine it to a team of government- appointed "experts" working behind closed doors. Apparently it has submitted its Moisie water diversion project directly to your ministry and/or the Cabinet for authorization, intending to preclude any further public comment or debate. Mr. Minister, the world's environmental community finds this to be unacceptable. We urge you to suspend construction of the whole Ste-Marguerite-3 project until all the studies specified by the environmental review board have been carried out and until the modified proposal has been subjected to a public review. We also urge you to deny, once and for all, authorization of any diversions of the Moisie or its tributaries, and to declare the Moisie River a world heritage site. To tamper with this great salmon river -- the jewel of Québec -- for a few megawatt-hours of electricity is worse than folly. Keep it wild. Let it be. We look forward to your reply. Yours sincerely, * * * * *