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Received DC Office October 5/16

Bob Gammer Community Relations Manager Northern Region Phone: 250 561-4858 Cell: 250 961-0676 Email: [email protected]

October 5, 2016 Dear Peace Water Use Plan participant, Re:

Invitation to the Peace Water Use Plan Information Update

Further to our letter sent in August 2016, we are pleased to follow up with you to provide additional information on the upcoming Peace Water Use Plan Information Update. The purpose of the Information Update is to:  Share information on the history of the Peace Water Use Plan and the implementation process;  Answer questions you may have on the Peace Water Use Plan;  Provide information and results to date on various projects and monitoring studies related to the Peace Water Use Plan; and  Discuss selected projects and monitoring studies. The Information Update will be hosted at the following two locations and dates: October 26, 2016 – Hudson’s Hope from 2:00 pm to 8:30 pm Pearkes Centre 10801 Dudley Drive Hudson's Hope OR October 27, 2016 – Mackenzie from 2:00 pm to 8:30 pm Mackenzie Recreation Complex 400 Skeena Drive Mackenzie British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority nd 3333 – 22 Avenue, Prince George, BC V2N 1B4 www.bchydro.com

October 13, 2016

C-5 The Peace Water Use Plan Information Update is intended to be interactive and will include the following Round Table Sessions and Poster Topics: Specific Round Table Topic Sessions: 

2:45 to 3:15 pm

Williston Dust Trials and Monitoring



3:45 to 4:15 pm

Williston Debris Program

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5:15 to 5:45 pm

Boat Ramps

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6:00 to 6:45 pm

Williston Marine Radio System

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7:10 to 7:30 pm

Williston Debris Program

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7:50 to 8:20 pm

Williston Dust Trials and Monitoring

Poster Session – Open from 2:00 pm to 8:30 pm 

Williston Dust Trials and Monitoring

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Williston Trial Tributaries

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Williston Debris Program



Williston Trial Wetlands



Boat Ramps



Spill Protocol Studies

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Williston Marine Radio System

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

Archaeology Inventory and Monitoring

Peace River Trial Side Channel



WUP Overview

To help you familiarize yourself with the Peace Water Use Plan, please find attached the following information:  

Overview of the Peace Water Use Plan Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions

Information on physical works projects and monitoring studies related to the Peace Water Use Plan are available in project summaries posted online at Peace Water Use Plan Information Update. If you have any questions, or comments, on the Peace Water Use Plan Information Update please contact me directly at 250 561-4858, or [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you there!

October 13, 2016

C-5 Sincerely,

Bob Gammer

cc:

Julie Fournier, BC Hydro Karen Popoff, BC Hydro Heather Mathews, BC Hydro Monica Rice, BC Hydro Laura Murphy, BC Hydro

October 13, 2016

C-5 Peace Water Use Plan Information Update Overview of the Peace Water Use Plan This overview provides a brief background on the history, scope and implementation of the Peace Water Use Plan.

The Peace River System The headwaters of the Peace River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River, are located in north-eastern British Columbia (Figure 1). The Peace River is formed by the confluence of the Finlay and Parsnip Rivers flowing from opposite directions in the Rocky Mountain Trench. The W.A.C. Bennett Dam was completed in 1967 and formed the Williston Reservoir which covers approximately 1773 square kilometres (684.6 square miles) at full pool. The Peace Canyon Dam was constructed in 1980, is located at the foot of the Peace River canyon and forms the Dinosaur Reservoir. Dinosaur Reservoir covers approximately 9 square kilometres (3.5 square miles) at full pool.

Figure 1: map of physical scope of Peace Water Use Plan

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C-5 Brief History of the Planning Process In 1998, the B.C. provincial government issued Water Use Plan Guidelines with an overall goal of finding a better balance between competing uses of water, such as domestic water supply, fish and wildlife, recreation, heritage, flood control and electrical power needs. The Water Use Plan Guidelines called for a multi-interest consultative process to understand public values and develop a preferred operating strategy. This process is described in the provincial Water Use Plan Guidelines (British Columbia, 1998). BC Hydro developed 23 Water Use Plans (WUPs) for 31 of its hydroelectric generation facilities through a robust value-analysis process including First Nation and multistakeholder engagement from 1999 and 2004. Subsequently, the Comptroller of Water Rights (Comptroller) issued Orders under the provincial Water Act. These Orders reflected the recommendations in the WUPs and directed BC Hydro to undertake site specific actions at each facility. Actions could include: • Operating changes; • Physical works projects to enhance recreation and wildlife habitat; and • Multi-year monitoring studies. The WUPs and Orders recognize environmental, social and economic values in establishing the basis for facility operations. The WUPs are not intended to be comprehensive watershed management plans or to deal with water management issues associated with other activities in the watershed, such as forestry or mining. Aboriginal rights and title issues and historic grievances arising from the initial construction of the facilities are specifically excluded from WUPs. Compensation for the impacts to fish, wildlife and their supporting habitats from the construction of BC Hydro owned and operated generation facilities is provided through the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program.

Water Use Planning for the Peace Project The Peace Water Use Plan Committee (Peace WUP Committee) met from February 2001 to May 2003. The Peace WUP process was designed to include all parties whose interests may be affected by the operation of the Peace hydroelectric facilities, including cultural/heritage values, fisheries, wildlife, dust, debris, recreation and power generation. The Peace WUP Committee included representatives from First Nations, local, provincial and federal governments, BC Hydro and public participants. The Peace WUP Committee was interested in finding the best balance between all interests. They compared the trade-offs associated with different ways of operating and

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C-5 considered physical works projects instead of changing operations to balance objectives. The Peace WUP Committee felt their ability to make decisions was limited by the availability of data, complexity of issues, large geographic scope of the system and two year time-frame to make a final decision. The Peace WUP Committee recommended monitoring studies to collect sufficient information to assist with future decisions on evaluating the different ways of operating and the effectiveness of physical works projects. The two year consultative process and consensus recommendations are summarized in the December 2003 Peace WUP Committee Report. BC Hydro reflected the recommendations of the Peace WUP Committee in the August 2007 Peace Water Use Plan. The proposed conditions would change the existing operations and were expected to positively affect fisheries and wildlife habitat, shoreline conditions, flood control, and recreation interests. The proposed conditions were also expected to decrease power generation revenues. The Peace WUP was reviewed by provincial and federal agencies and the Comptroller issued the Peace WUP Order (the Order) in August 2007.

Implementation of the Peace WUP Order The Order directs the implementation of operational constraints and a program of monitoring studies and physical works projects. The physical works projects include improvements to reservoir access; marine radio service; debris removal; and fish and wildlife habitat enhancement projects. The monitoring studies assess the effectiveness of these physical works projects and in some cases, provide information about specific interests such as reservoir dust levels and impacts of spillway operations on fish, wildlife and their habitats. BC Hydro developed specific Terms of References (TOR) to define how each of the monitoring studies and physical works projects would be implemented. Some TORs were developed in collaboration with or reviewed by First Nations, government agencies or stakeholders. The Comptroller is required to approve each TOR for each project or study before implementation begins. Implementation of feasibility and monitoring studies began in 2008 and it is expected that all of the monitoring studies will be completed by 2020. Construction of boat ramps and physical works projects were completed between 2013 and 2015. The Peace WUP Annual Report provides regular updates on schedules, budgets and study reports. BC Hydro expects to spend approximately $64 million to implement the Order between 2008 and 2020 under the direction of the Comptroller.

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C-5 The Peace WUP Annual Report, TORs and study reports are available at Peace Water Use Planning.

Interim Review of the Peace Water Use Plan The interim review of the Peace WUP was to evaluate the minimum operating elevation of Williston Reservoir as well as review results of monitoring studies and physical works projects. As directed under the Order, BC Hydro was required to implement a feasibility study to determine options for infrastructure issues associated with lower reservoir levels for the District of Mackenzie and the District’s three forest industry mills. Industry and the District of Mackenzie reviewed the confidential reports in 2015. In May 2016, the Comptroller found that the feasibility study was complete and BC Hydro had met its obligations for the study under the Order. Following the Comptroller’s decision, the minimum operating elevation for Williston Reservoir will remain unchanged at 2147 feet. The minimum operating elevation will not be a component of the interim Peace WUP review. Therefore, the review will focus solely on monitoring studies and physical works projects and is being done in the form of an Information Update in October 2016. Find more details in the Peace WUP Information Update Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions online at Peace Water Use Plan Information Update.

For more information please contact a BC Hydro Community Relations Representative: Bob Gammer Northern Community Relations Manager Prince George 250 561-4858 [email protected] October 2016

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C-5 Peace Water Use Plan Information Update Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions Peace Water Use Plan Information Update BC Hydro has invited First Nations, government, and stakeholders to attend a Peace Water Use Plan Information Update in October 2016. The session will provide information and results to date on projects and monitoring studies related to the Peace Water Use Plan (Peace WUP). In an effort to maximize participation, BC Hydro is hosting two sessions for representatives to participate in the Information Update. The meetings will be held in Hudson’s Hope on October 26 and Mackenzie, October 27. It is not necessary to attend both sessions.

Information Update Objectives The purpose of the Information Update is to:  share information on the history of the Peace WUP and the implementation process;  answer questions you may have on the Peace WUP;  provide information and results to date on various projects and monitoring studies related to the Peace WUP; and  discuss selected projects and monitoring studies. The minimum operating elevation of Williston Reservoir will not be a component of the Peace WUP Information Update as BC Hydro is not pursuing any changes to the minimum operating elevation. Please see the Overview of the Peace WUP for details. In addition, there are other programs and interests associated with Williston Reservoir and Peace River outside of the Water Use Plan process including the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Williston Dust Mitigation Program and Site C Clean Energy Project. These topics will not form part of the Information Update. We will use feedback from the sessions to better understand the interests and assess how we can improve the implementation of the monitoring studies.

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C-5 Information Update Focus The Information Update will include scheduled round table discussions on key projects under the Peace WUP including, dust trials and monitoring, the debris program, boat ramps and the marine radio system. In addition, there will be posters on display on the following:  Williston Dust Trials and Monitoring;  Williston Debris Program;  Boat Ramps;  Williston Marine Radio System;  Archaeology Inventory and Monitoring;  Williston Trial Tributaries;  Williston Trial Wetlands;  Spill Protocol Studies;  Peace River Trial Side Channel; and  WUP Overview. During the session, BC Hydro representatives will be available to answer questions or talk about the projects implemented under the Peace WUP Order.

Preparing for the Session More information on the Peace Water Use Plan including monitoring study terms of reference and reports are available at BC Hydro’s Water Use Planning. As well, there is an Overview of the Peace WUP and Project Summaries that have been developed to provide background information. These are available on Peace WUP Information Update. If you are representing an interest group, please feel free to share the information and talk to others to learn more about their concerns and feedback they may have prior to attending the session.

Participant Frequently Asked Questions 1. Do I need to attend both sessions? No, please attend the session closest to you, either in Hudson’s Hope or Mackenzie. 2. Do I need to attend the session for the entire day? If you are interested in hearing what others have to say and want to participate in a group discussion, please refer to the agenda in the invite letter you received.

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Otherwise, please attend at a time convenient for you. The posters will be on display and you can meet with BC Hydro representatives for questions, feedback and discussions from 2:00 pm to 8:30 pm. 3. I cannot make the scheduled round table discussion for my area of interest. What should I do? You are welcome to drop in and join us at any time throughout the session to share your comments, questions and feedback. 4. I cannot attend the meeting. What should I do? Please contact Bob Gammer so we can talk about other options. 5. Will there be opportunity to make decisions on physical works such as trial tributaries or wetlands? Construction of the physical works projects was completed in 2014. It’s too early to draw meaningful results or conclusions associated with changes attributed to the enhancements at this time. 6. Why are some of the Peace River projects suspended? Further work on these studies has been paused in acknowledgement of the ongoing development of the Site C Clean Energy Project. Lessons learned will inform future physical works and monitoring studies undertaken by BC Hydro. 7. Will there be a review of the minimum operating elevation for Williston Reservoir at this meeting? The minimum operating elevation of Williston Reservoir will not be a component of the Peace WUP Information Update. For further context, please see the Overview of the Peace WUP.

For more information please contact a BC Hydro Community Relations Representative: Bob Gammer Northern Community Relations Manager Prince George 250 561-4858 [email protected] October 2016

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