Participant Funding Program–Aboriginal Funding Envelope
Funding Review Committee's Report – Addendum #2

Allocation of Federal Funds for the Environmental Assessment of the
Site C Clean Energy Project

The Participant Funding Program (PFP) is established pursuant to subsection 58(1.1) of the current Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (the Act), which states: For the purposes of this Act, the Minister shall establish a participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public in comprehensive studies, mediations and assessments by review panels. The PFP also includes an Aboriginal Funding Envelope (AFE) to strengthen the ability of Aboriginal groups to participate in federal or joint federal-provincial environmental assessment (EA) processes and in related consultation activities.

A funding review committee (FRC) independent of the EA was established for the Site C Clean Energy Project (the Project). The EA of the Project is being conducted by means of a joint review panel (JRP). The FRC's purpose was to assess funding applications received under the PFP – AFE for the Project, and to provide recommendations to the President of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) on whether funding should be provided, and if so, in what amount.

Under the AFE for this Project, a total of $799,200 was made available to support Aboriginal participation in the EA, and related consultation and community engagement activities, linked to:

• review and comment on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines;
• review and comment on the EIS; and
• preparation for and participation in the JRP hearings.

The deadline to submit an application was December 7, 2011. Twenty-three applications were received by the PFP requesting a total of $545,095. From December 14 to 16, 2011, the FRC met to review the applications and recommended allocating a total of $517,795 of available PFP-AFE funding to support 22 applicants.

One additional application, from the Fort Chipewyan Métis Local #125, was sent to the Agency on December 7, 2011; however, it was not received by the PFP nor reviewed by the FRC during its December, 2011 meetings. The application was resubmitted on February 17 and on February 22, 2012 the FRC was reconvened to consider the application from the Fort Chipewyan Métis Local #125, which requested a total of $14,230. The FRC recommended that a total of $11,900 be allocated to the Fort Chipewyan Métis Local #125.

In April 2012, it was determined by the Agency's Crown Consultation Coordinator (CCC) that during the initial depth of consultation, one Aboriginal group, the Kelly Lake Métis Settlement Society, was not identified. The CCC concluded that the Kelly Lake Métis Settlement Society may be on the moderate end of the consultation spectrum. The CCC contacted the group to inform them of the assessment process for Site C and invite it to participate in the EA and the consultation process. Its funding application was submitted on April 30 and on May 2, 2012 the FRC was reconvened to consider the application from the Kelly Lake Métis Settlement Society, which requested a total of $17,376.

The FRC members were Paul Scott, retired Regional Director of the Agency's Pacific and Yukon Regional Office, acting as Committee Chairperson; Ray Crook, Environmental Assessment Consultant, and Bruce Young, retired Director with the Agency.

Background

The British Columbia (BC) Hydro and Power Authority (the proponent) is proposing to construct and operate a 1,100-MW hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in northeast BC. The Project would be the third dam and hydroelectric generation station on the Peace River in BC, and would be located downstream of the proponent's existing generating facilities at G.M. Shrum and Peace Canyon and their respective reservoirs (the Williston and Dinosaur reservoirs). The dam and hydroelectric generating station would be located approximately seven kilometers (km) southwest of Fort St. John. The proponent has a legal obligation to serve domestic electricity needs in its service area, which encompasses most of the province. The proposed Project would generate an average of 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, enough energy to power more than 450,000 homes in BC.

The proposed Project consists of an earth fill dam approximately 1,050 metres long and 60 metres high, two new 500-kilovolt transmission lines 77 km in length, to be located along existing rights-of-way connecting the Site C switchyard to the existing Peace Canyon substation, the creation of a reservoir 83 km in length and two to three times the width of the current river, and the re-routing of four sections of Highway 29, approximately 25 km in total, as well as temporary Project components and activities including access roads, construction worker housing and staging areas.

The proposed Project will take approximately seven years to construct. The commencement of early works is proposed in the fall of 2013 (pending approval) with operation of the first generating unit approximately seven years thereafter, to provide electricity for more than 100 years.

Eligibility

Under the PFP – AFE, funding may be provided to Aboriginal applicants to support their input to an EA and/or to support their engagement in consultation activities with the federal government. These activities must be linked to the EA of a proposed project through a comprehensive study, mediation or review panel.

Eligible recipients must plan to engage in Aboriginal consultation activities with the federal government that are linked to the EA of the proposed Project, and be able to demonstrate that they meet at least one of the following eligibility criteria:

• Have a direct, local interest in the Project, such as historical or cultural ties to the area likely to be affected by the proposed Project;
• Have community knowledge or Aboriginal traditional knowledge relevant to the EA; and/or
• Have expert information relevant to the anticipated environmental effects of the proposed Project.

The applicant was deemed to have met the eligibility criteria.

Under the PFP – AFE, applicants can request funding for costs related to:

• professional fees;
• staff salaries and benefits;
• local collection and distribution of information;
• travel expenses;
• rental of office space and meeting rooms;
• office supplies and telephone charges;
• administrative and reporting costs;
• other expenses related to local collection and distribution of information;
• legal fees;
• purchase of relevant information material, with supporting information;
• general media advertising and promotion; and
• other detailed expenses, with supporting information.

Rationale for Allocation

In reviewing the application received, and in reaching its conclusions and recommendations, the FRC took into consideration a number of factors, including the following:

• The ability of the applicant to demonstrate that it has met one or more of the eligibility criteria listed above;
• The quality, clarity and content of the application, particularly with respect to (1) the relationship between specific Project components and the applicant's traditional lands and resources, and (2) the applicant's proposed EA participation work plan;
• Advice received from the Agency regarding the role that the group may play in the review;
• The ability of the applicant to represent the interests of Aboriginal communities that might be impacted by the Project;
• Potential Project impacts on traditional lands and resources, and on the related interests and asserted rights and title of the Aboriginal group represented by the applicant;
• The maximum funding available to the applicant;
• The extent to which the proposed activities meet the requirements of the PFP - AFE; and
• The extent to which the applicant's work plan demonstrated a clear focus on the activities which are eligible for funding under the PFP - AFE for the Project, which include:
  • reviewing and commenting on the EIS Guidelines;
  • reviewing and commenting on the EIS; and
  • preparing for and participating in the JRP hearings.

Recommendation

The FRC recommends allocating $17,346 of available PFP-AFE funding to support the Kelly Lake Métis Settlement Society.

The FRC further recommends that a condition of any funding allocation be that the applicant provides input to the EA through comments on the EIS Guidelines, the EIS and a written submission and/or oral presentation at the JRP Hearings.

The Funding Review Committee
Site C Clean Energy Project
Aboriginal Funding Envelope

______________________________________________________________________
Paul Scott, Committee Chairperson, Retired Regional Director of the Agency's Pacific and Yukon Regional Office

______________________________________________________________________
Ray Crook, Environmental Assessment Consultant

______________________________________________________________________
Bruce Young, retired Director with the Agency

Recommended Participant Funding Allocations – Update #2
Site C Clean Energy Project
Aboriginal Funding Envelope

Applicant	Total Recommended Allocation Amount
Métis Nation BC	$17,800
Deninu Kue First Nation	$16,800
Saulteau First Nations	$32,000
Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement	$5,675
Fort Nelson First Nation	$17,800
Smith's Landing First Nation	$17,800
Doig River First Nation, represented by Treaty 8 Tribal Association	$32,000
Halfway River First Nation, represented by Treaty 8 Tribal Association	$32,000
Prophet River First Nation, represented by Treaty 8 Tribal Association	$32,000
West Moberly First Nation, represented by Treaty 8 Tribal Association	$32,000
Dene Tha' First Nation	$24,800
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Industry Relation Corporation	$24,800
Mikisew Cree First Nation	$24,800
McLeod Lake Indian Band	$32,000
Beaver First Nation	$24,800
Kwadacha Nation	$17,800
Zone 6 Regional Council of the Métis Association of Alberta	$24,800
Northwest Territory Métis Nation	$16,620
Swan River First Nation	$14,000
Horse Lake First Nation Industry Relations Corporation	$24,700
Duncan's First Nation.	$24,700
Blueberry River First Nation	$28,100
Fort Chipewyan Métis Local #125	$11,900
Kelly Lake Métis Settlement Society	$17,346
TOTAL:	$547,041