Peace River Regional District REPORT. To: Chair and Directors Date: February 24, Bruce Simard, General Manager of Development Services

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1 Peace River Regional District REPORT To: Chair and Directors Date: February 24, 2017 From: Subject: Bruce Simard, General Manager of Development Services Recommendations from the Agriculture Advisory Committee Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan RECOMMENDATION: [All Directors - Corporate Unweighted] That the Board approve the attached letter on comments Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan and authorize that the letter be forwarded to BC Hydro. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: At its February 21, 2017 meeting the Agriculture Advisory Committee (AAC) reviewed the January 27, 2017 Draft Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan received from BC Hydro. Deadline for comments is March 13, The AAC made a number of recommendations on the Draft Plan ranging from commodity representation, mitigation fund and plans, and reporting. Please see attached summary. STRATEGIC PLAN RELEVANCE: FINANCIAL CONSIDERATION(S): COMMUNICATIONS CONSIDERATION(S): None None None OTHER CONSIDERATION(S): The recommendations were passed at the February 21, 2017 Agriculture Advisory Committee meeting. The minutes are on the Consent Calendar for information. Staff Initials: Dept. Head: CAO: March 9, 2017

2 March 10, 2017 Ms. Sarah Weiss, Sr. Environmental Coordinator Site C Clean Energy Project BC Hydro 333 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 5R3 Via SiteC@bchydro.com Dear Ms. Weiss: Re: Draft Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan At its March 9, 2017 meeting the Board of the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) received a number of comments/recommendations from its Agriculture Advisory Committee (AAC) with respect to the Draft Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan. In support of the AAC the Board resolved that the following comments be forwarded to BC Hydro for incorporation and revision to its Draft Plan. Commodity Representation (add to the list on Page 29 under the heading BC Agricultural Compensation Fund Board) request that horticulture and sheep commodity representatives be added, as independent seats. PRRD Agricultural Appointee (to represent smaller commodity groups) (page 31 Table 3 Sectors Represented, Appointing Entities and Board Terms) a) request clarification - does the PRRD agricultural appointee (to represent smaller commodity groups) mean an appointee from the Regional Board or an appointee from one of the regions small agricultural commodity groups (appointed by the Regional Board); and b) what is BC Hydro s definition of smaller commodity groups. Mitigation Fund request confirmation that the $20 million fund established under the Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan will be utilized only in the affected area of the Peace River Region. diverse. vast. abundant. PLEASE REPLY TO: X Box 810, 1981 Alaska Ave, Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4H8 Tel: (250) or (800) Fax: (250) prrd.dc@prrd.bc.ca St, Fort St. John, BC V1J 4N4 Tel: (250) Fax: (250) prrd.fsj@prrd.bc.ca March 9, 2017

3 Letter BC Hydro March 10, 2017 Page 2 Individual Farm Mitigation Plans request that BC Hydro provide a report to the Regional Board indicating the number of Individual Farm Mitigation Plans completed, for disruptions to agricultural land owners and tenure holders, and total cost of compensation paid as noted under Environmental Assessment Act (EAC) Condition #30, Section 2.4 on page 21. Invitation (Mitigation Plans) That Nancy Pepper, Chair, Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan Consultation Steering Committee be invited to attend a Regional Board meeting to provide information on individual farm mitigation plans: a) are mitigation plans being completed with those affected landowners and tenure holders directly affected by the Site C Project to ensure they are able to continue their livelihoods and preserve their lifestyles; b) provide clarification Development and implementation of individual farm mitigation plans are part of BC Hydro s properties rights acquisition process. For clarity, the individual farm mitigation plan is not a separate document. If the mitigation plan is not a separate document how will BC Hydro supply the landowner with any written plan to indicate what will be dealt with and how these issues will be dealt. These plans should be separate; c) provide proof that the individual farm mitigation plans are being provided to landowners and tenure holders, as the Regional District has been made aware that this is not the case. Dissolution of the Board (for reference - Page 33 and Appendix D, page 7) That the Terms of Reference for the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund Board be amended so that the dissolution of the Board be at the discretion of the Minister of Agriculture and not the Crown Corporation of BC Hydro. Reporting that BC Hydro be requested to hold an annual meeting to report out to the public outcomes of the Agricultural Plan, i.e. funds disbursed, projects approved. If you have any questions or require further clarification please contact Chris Cvik, CAO at (250) Yours truly, Brad Sperling Chair March 9, 2017

4 Peace River Regional District SUMMARY Agriculture Advisory Committee comments to BC Hydro s 2017 Draft Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan - Deadline for comments to BC Hydro is March 13, RECOMMENDATION No. 1 Commodity Representation request that horticulture and sheep commodity representatives be added, as independent seats, to the list on Page 29 under the heading BC Agricultural Compensation Fund Board. RECOMMENDATION No. 2 PRRD Agricultural Appointee (to represent smaller commodity groups) a) request clarification on Page 31 Table 3 Sectors Represented, Appointing Entities and Board Terms does the PRRD agricultural appointee (to represent smaller commodity groups) mean an appointee from the Regional Board or an appointee from one of the regions small agricultural commodity groups (appointed by the Regional Board); and b) what is BC Hydro s definition of smaller commodity groups. RECOMMENDATION No. 3 Mitigation Fund request confirmation that the $20 million fund established under the Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan will be utilized only in the affected area of the Peace River Region. RECOMMENDATION No. 4 Individual Farm Mitigation Plans request that BC Hydro provide a report to the Regional Board indicating the number of Individual Farm Mitigation Plans completed, for disruptions to agricultural land owners and tenure holders, and total cost of compensation paid as noted under Environmental Assessment Act (EAC) Condition #30, Section 2.4 on page 21. RECOMMENDATION No. 5 Invitation (Mitigation Plans) That Nancy Pepper, Chair, Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan Consultation Steering Committee be invited to attend a Regional Board meeting to provide information on individual farm mitigation plans: a) are mitigation plans being completed with those affected landowners and tenure holders directly affected by the Site C Project to ensure they are able to continue their livelihoods and preserve their lifestyles; b) provide clarification Development and implementation of individual farm mitigation plans are part of BC Hydro s properties rights acquisition process. For clarity, the individual farm mitigation plan is not a separate document. If the mitigation plan is not a separate document how will BC Hydro supply the landowner with any written plan to indicate what will be dealt with and how these issues will be dealt. These plans should be separate; c) provide proof that the individual farm mitigation plans are being provided to landowners and tenure holders, as the Regional District has been made aware that this is not the case. March 9, 2017

5 Summary Site C Agriculture Plan February 21, 2017 Page 2 of 2 RECOMMENDATION No. 6 Dissolution of the Board That the Terms of Reference for the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund Board (Page 33 and Appendix D, page 7) be amended so that the dissolution of the Board be at the discretion of the Minister of Agriculture and not the Crown Corporation of BC Hydro. RECOMMENDATION No. 7 Reporting That BC Hydro be requested to hold an annual meeting to report out to the public outcomes of the Agricultural Plan, i.e. funds disbursed, projects approved. March 9, 2017

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12 Received DC Office February 27/17 From: Dale London Sent: February :25 PM To: prrd dc Trish Morgan Bruce Simard Subject: FW: Site C Project - EAC Condition 30, Individual Farm Mitigation Plans To The Chair of the PRRD and all Board Members and Committee members: The Environmental Assessment Office clarified the Farm Mitigation Plan and I am pleased to see that they consider it a stand-alone document. The conclusion here is what I was requesting from the PRRD and therefore the issue has been resolved. At this time, B.C. Hydro just needs to come forward and start working with the agriculture landowners. Thank you all for your time. Sincerely Clara London From: Parks, Chris EAO:EX Sent: February 27, :42 PM To: Dale London Cc: prrd.fsj@prrd.bc.ca; Cousins, Autumn EAO:EX; Rennert-May, Leya EAO:EX; Carroll, Tony FLNR:EX; McLean, Alex D EAO:EX Subject: Site C Project - EAC Condition 30, Individual Farm Mitigation Plans Hello Clara, I have reviewed the requirements of EAC Condition 30 with respect to Individual Farm Mitigation Plans. The completion of Individual Farm Mitigation Plans are required by EAC Condition 30, as follows: The EAC Holder must develop, jointly with agricultural land owners and tenure holders, individual farm mitigation plans throughout the construction phase for all farms directly affected by the Project It is EAOs interpretation that these plans are stand-alone documents, to be completed in consultation with impacted and potentially impacted members of the agricultural community in the Peace. Both the EA for the Project completed by BC Hydro and the Report of the Joint Review Panel identified that Individual Farm Mitigation Plans were a key mitigation to offset adverse effects to the agricultural community. March 9, 2017

13 To ensure clarity for all parties, I would like to offer the following information regarding the Individual Farm Mitigation Plans; 1. EAO does not consider the Individual Farm Mitigation plans to be a component of the property acquisition process as identified in section 2.4 of the January 27, 2017 draft of the Site C Clean Energy Project Agriculture Mitigation and Compensation Plan. Rather, these are stand-alone documents that are required to identify the adverse effects of the project on individual farmers, identify the specific mitigation that will be applied to address those effects, and identify how this mitigation is to be implemented. 2. The Individual Farm Mitigation Plans are intended to address direct effects to the agricultural community at the individual farm level. Please note that EAO does not consider property acquisition (either permanent or temporary) to be the only metric for direct effects of the project on farms and farmers in the Peace. 3. The Individual farm Mitigation Plans are a distinct and separate entity from the Farm Compensation Fund, and the 2 requirements must not be tied to one another. 4. The Individual Farm Mitigation Plans must be developed jointly with all agricultural land owners and tenure holders. EAO expects that BC Hydro will work proactively and diligently with farmers affected by the Project to prepare these plans. Please note that this information is intended to provide clarity regarding EAOs interpretation of the intent and requirements of Condition 30 with respect to the Individual Farm Mitigation Plans, and does not at this time provide a determination of compliance with Condition 30. EAO C&E will inspect against Condition 30 at a later date to assess BC Hydro s compliance with this requirement. Please note that I have also provided this information to BC Hydro. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if I can provide any additional information. Alternately please feel free to contact EAO Director, Compliance and Enforcement Autumn Cousins at , or Autumn.Cousins@gov.bc.ca. Regards, Chris Chris Parks Senior Compliance and Enforcement Officer BC Environmental Assessment Office T F PO Box 9426 Stn. Prov. Gov t Victoria BC, V8W 9V1 March 9, 2017

14 From: Dale London Sent: Tuesday, February 07, :41 AM To: Bruce Simard Subject: Fw: Draft Agriculture Mitigation and Plan Please forward this to the Agriculture Advisory Committee. Thanks Clara In regards to the Draft Agriculture Mitigation Plan: 2.4 individual farm mitigation plans -- Page 21: "For clarity, the individual farm mitigation plan is not a separate document. The individual property acquisition agreements agreed to and completed with the agricultural owner or tenure holders will include all of the parts of the farm mitigation plans as described in this section." This needs to change because if the plan is not a document, B.C. Hydro does not have to supply the landowner with any written plan to say what will be dealt with and how these issues will be dealt with. With no written plan, then the Agriculture Mitigation Plan does not exist. There is no such thing as "individual property acquisition agreements" as stated above. Some agriculture land, mine included, have been expropriated without landowners being consulted and without a plan in place. B.C. Hydro decided where my new access was going to be into my field without my input. No one talked to me about access, fences, or gates, etc. A plan is supposed to be a document. This wording is a loophole which would allow B.C. Hydro to not create a written plan. Landowners need a written document. The Agriculture Mitigation Plan was put in place to protect the remaining agriculture land and help the landowners with the resulting changes of Site C and this is not being done. Thanks Clara London dalondon@live.com March 9, 2017

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