The Site C project seems to be one of the major topics of discuss in Fort St. John for many reasons. A large majority of people across British Columbia are excited about this project coming to fruition; as it has opens the door to a lot of opportunities that include a new energy source and many jobs.
There have been some concerns that the community of Fort St. John are worried about and these concerns were discussed on August 6th by the Peace River Regional District.
Some of the concerns that were addressed were health care and environmental issues that will be affected because of the Site C project.
Therefore, the Peace River Regional District has laid out some possible solutions that can help lessen the impact of the Site C project in the Fort St. John community.
For instance, they have recommended that BC Hydro would have a partnership with a daycare to create some space for free childcare for Site C workers.
Seat warms is another suggestion that the Peace River Regional District has suggested as seat warmers installed in the workers vehicles will help cut down noise and greenhouse gas emissions.
This is because the engine would not have to be running in order for workers to stay warm in the winter months. However, BC Hydro is unsure if they can commit to this suggestion at this point.
Another concern was how the Site C project will be destroying the homes of the garter snakes that live at the reservoir.
Therefore, they have recommended to relocate some of the snakes and to build an artificial dens near a river.
Eagles are another group of species that will be affected greatly by the construction of the Site C Dam. Therefore, BC Hydro is making the effort to mark down all the nests of the eagles on a map to help avoid their homes.
Another large concern that the community of Fort St. John has been is with the guidelines of local fire and the first aid departments.
The Peace River Regional District has recommended transferring that responsibility to the local emergency agencies but has not yet commented on this recommendation.
During the Site C construction, there will be a lot of vegetation that will be cleared in order for this project to get under way. Therefore, a lot of timbers will be sold but almost 50% of that timber will be burned.
For that reason, the Peace River Regional District is trying to come up with an approach that can reduce the amount of timber that they will have to burn.
An additional, problem that the city faces is the safety of their people when rock, clay, sand and gravel need to be a blasted in order to get access to these materials.
Therefore, the Peace River Regional District has suggested to BC Hydro to put out a weekly and daily post on social media to let people know when the blasting will take place.
Like any big project, there will be concerns and problems, but it is how the community addresses and solves them in order to make a project like Site C to be a success.
