Government of Canada

Government of British Columbia

News Release

Federal and B.C. Provincial Ministers Announce Decision on Prince George Hart Water Supply Improvement Project

OTTAWA - March 12, 2004 - The federal Minister of the Environment, the Honourable David Anderson, and British Columbia's (B.C.) Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, George Abbott, announced today that the Prince George Hart Water Supply Improvement Project has been certified under British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Act and does not require further assessment by a review panel or mediator under theCanadian Environmental Assessment Act.

B.C. Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection, Bill Barisoff and B.C. Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, Murray Coell have also issued an authorization certificate for the project.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office jointly reviewed the project, in keeping with the Canada-British Columbia Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation.

"This cooperative agreement allows for a more efficient process, while respecting both provincial and federal legislation on environmental assessment," explained Minister Anderson.

"This local infrastructure project is a Prince George success story," said Minister George Abbott. "By working together, the community has secured a water source that will deliver reliable, high quality drinking water."

Minister Anderson has referred the project back to Western Economic Diversification Canada and Infrastructure Canada, the federal responsible authorities, so that they can proceed with appropriate action. British Columbia's Ministers have issued a project approval certificate that gives the City of Prince George approval, subject to conditions, to proceed with work. The project includes construction and operation of a groundwater collector well, two water transmission pipelines, access roads and ancillary works. The extraction capacity of the proposed facility, to be located on Fishtrap Island in the Nechako River, would be 34 million cubic metres per year.

The federal and provincial Ministers have determined that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects with the implementation of the mitigation measures outlined in the comprehensive study report.

It is estimated that the project will be in service in October 2005.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency administers the federal environmental assessment process, which identifies the environmental effects of proposed projects and measures to address those effects, in support of sustainable development.

The British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) is a neutral provincial agency that coordinates assessment of the impacts of major development proposals in British Columbia. It reports to the Honourable George Abbott, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management.

For more information:

Claire Chippindale
Communications Advisor
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Tel.: (613) 957-0313
Fax: (613) 957-0946
E-mail: claire.chippindale@ceaa-acee.gc.ca

Graham Currie
Public Affairs Bureau
Communications Director,
British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office
Tel.: (250) 356-2862
Fax: (250) 387-9105
E-mail: Graham.Currie@gems3.gov.bc.ca