Directors of the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) are grappling with “contention” over the allocation of Site C legacy money.
During a meeting on March 6th, board members debated how the funds, particularly the regional services impact portion, should be spent.
Area C Chair Brad Sterling voiced strong objections to the PRRD’s spending approach, advocating instead for electoral areas to have autonomy in deciding their respective portions.
The existing formula, which was negotiated with BC Hydro in 2013, takes into account population and long-term service impact, resulting in a 60/40 split. While municipalities have the liberty to spend their portion as they see fit, the PRRD would responsible for distributing funds to rural populations and regional services.
The mayors of Fort St. John and Hudson’s Hope expressed their opposition to revisiting the established formula.
Travous Quibell highlighted instances of confrontation and “infighting” during the deliberations.
“I don’t necessarily have any desire to see us crack open the the formula itself given-- given how much of a confrontational and, honestly, negative process it was,” said Quibell.
In response to the ongoing debate, the board voted to send a letter to BC Hydro, questioning the funding amount based on increased generating capacity and environmental assessment. Additionally, they will seek legal opinions on whether the agreement can be revisited.
BC Hydro has distributed an over $426,000 prorated payment this year based on 65 days of power generation, with Fort St. John receiving the bulk of the funds.
According to the current agreement, payments will continue until 2093 with amounts to be adjusted annually based on the average BC Consumer Price Index from the previous 12 months.