A Cheslatta delegation will be in Prince George
B.C. Monday, September 30, to make a historic application for the water in the
Nechako River.
We will file the documents at 11:00 at the Front
Counter BC office.
Please see attached press release. We will
be available before or after for interviews. If you would like to be there
to record the filing of the application please let me know. It will be
arranged.
Thank you, Mike
Robertson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2013
CHESLATTA SUBMITS HISTORIC APPLICATION FOR LICENSE TO
TAKE BACK WATER
SOUTHBANK, B.C. – The Cheslatta Carrier
Nation submitted the water license application today for the $280 million
Nechako River Legacy Project that supports construction of a water release
facility at Kenney Dam.
“Submitting this application formally starts the process
of taking back the water that was stolen from us 62 years ago when the
government issued a private company license to all of the water in Cheslatta
Traditional Territory which made billions of dollars in
profit” said Cheslatta Chief Richard Peters. "It feels a bit
ironic that we are paying the Province over $10,525 to apply for part of a water
license that Rio Tinto Alcan pays $5.00 a year for" Peters added.
The Kenney Dam was constructed on
the Nechako River in 1952 to service the Alcan aluminum smelter in Kitimat.
The original design and construction of the Dam did not
include a spillway, which forced the Cheslatta people to flee their villages
when the massive releases of water from the Skins Lake Spillway flooded the
Cheslatta River Valley destroying cemeteries and depositing millions of tons of
silt, gravel and debris into Cheslatta Lake. Human skeletal
remains and demolished casket fragments continue to be discovered today along
the Cheslatta Lake shoreline.
The Nechako River Legacy Project would construct a water
release facility at Kenney Dam would stop of the flooding of Cheslatta graves
and transport the reservoir water directly into the old Nechako River and
re-water 5 miles of river in the Nechako canyon, which has been dry since
1952. Although power generation is not the primary objective,
Cheslatta have been in discussions with BC Hydro to secure a long-term
Electricity Purchase Agreement to ensure the economic viability of the
project. Cheslatta also confirm that discussions with Rio
Tinto Alcan remain positive.
Cheslatta proposes to reinvest a portion of
the revenue generated from power sales to create
a legacy fund to stimulate the environmental, social and economic rehabilitation
of the upper Nechako watershed and begin a revitalization process for the
Cheslatta land and people. “After making billions of dollars
in profit from flooding the Nechako, the government and industry
have never committed to a reinvestment
to fix the environmental disaster they
created” said Chief Peters. “As the project moves forward, we are fully prepared to
undergo all required environmental review processes to try and right a wrong
that has been allowed to continue for over 60 long and tragic
years.”
The Cheslatta Carrier Nation is a First Nations
community whose 130 members currently reside on scattered reserves located
approximately 35 km south of Burns Lake, B.C. Much of Cheslatta’s prime
traditional territory was flooded by the Kenney Dam in 1952 and resulted in the
forced relocation of the Cheslatta people. For the past 60
years the Cheslatta people have sought to rebuild their lives and land from
total social, economic and environmental
devastation.
- 30 -
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE
CONTACT:
Chief Richard
Peters
or
Chief Richard Peters or Mike Robertson
Cheslatta Carrier Nation
Mike Robertson
Senior Policy Advisor
Cheslatta
Carrier Nation
Box 909
Burns Lake, BC V0J 1E0
Canada