Plans for $6.6 Billion Hydroelectric Dam in Northern BC announced

Victoria - After a decade of debate and deliberation the Campbell government is making a power play, the likes of which haven't been seen in almost 50 years.
The province says it's planning to spend $6.5 billion to build a new hydro-electric dam one that will power nearly half a million homes over the next 100 years.

It would be tucked up in the northeast corner of the province, not far from Fort St. John and really far away from Vancouver Island.

But Site C, as it's known, is a piece of land that could change the power landscape for all of BC.

The proposed mega-dam will now be reviewed with a critical eye on its environmental impact and on what local people think.

But there's big pushback on both fronts. Building the dam would mean flooding out 54 square kilometers some of it in the Agricultural Land Reserve.

And, locals don't like it much either. Dozens met Premier Gordon Campbell at the airport in Hudson's Hope, BC this morning telling him to take his dam and dump it.

Still, Campbell says the dam once its up and running in 2020 will generate enough clean energy to power 410,000 homes.

Critics aren't dumping cold water on the dam, but say the costs and the lack of a long-term energy plan that includes alternatives such as solar and wind power, leave them cold.

The opposition New Democrats don't like the dam, but reserved the right today to change their minds later.

Haters and lovers alike will have lots of time to argue that independent environmental review is expected to take two years.

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