BC Hydro recently held online feedback sessions on its three proposals to replace transmission lines located in the current George Massey tunnel.
As the province looks to replace the current tunnel with another one – an eight-lane immersed tube tunnel – BC Hydro has to figure out where to put its power lines.
The three options are overhead lines, about 400 feet high, lines going through the new tunnel or a separate tunnel for the lines.
Otto Langer, a retired Fisheries biologist and member of Fraser Voices, called the feedback sessions for alternatives to underwater lines a “rather silly waste of time and money,” especially since BC Hydro cancelled a previous plan to have overhead lines.
Langer said, in his opinion, the “only logical option” would be to leave the lines in the old tunnel and maintain the tunnel for “service purposes.”
If that’s not possible, he advocated putting the new power line into the new tunnel.
“I can only conclude that any aerial crossing of the river is not a realistic nor an environmentally acceptable option,” he wrote to BC Hydro.
“Why would you even consider an above the river option at this late date when it will cost more and create a greater impact/risk to the environment (especially bird life) and to air traffic, etc.?” he added.
Richmond city council also adamantly opposes the overhead line proposal.
The current transmission line in the George Massey Tunnel is 700 metres long, and it’s part of a 12-kilometre power line that runs from Delta to Steveston, providing electricity to 30,000 people.
After a presentation by BC Hydro to city council in the fall, Mayor Malcolm Brodie called overhead lines “regressive,” saying they looked like they were from the 1920s.
“I always struggle to determine just how is that future-oriented,” Brodie told the BC Hydro representatives.
BC Hydro is now reviewing submissions from three online open houses as well as written submissions. They are preparing a summary report and plan to release that information next month.
The final decision on what kind of transmission lines will be built will be made by BC Hydro senior management, explained BC Hydro representative Antigone Dixon-Warren.
Fraser Voices is an advocacy group that works to protect the Fraser River estuary.
