The Sun (Vancouver, British Columbia), June 13, 2007

FOES OF POWER LINES HEAD TO HIGH COURT

[Rachel's introduction: The Tsawwassen people in British Columbia are demanding that the precautionary principle be used as the basis for stopping two high-voltage power lines scheduled to be built near Tsawwassen homes. Lower courts have ruled against them; now their case moves to Canada's highest court.]

By Glenn Bohn and Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun

DELTA -- A Tsawwassen community group hopes an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada will keep two proposed high-voltage lines out of a residential neighbourhood and away from the 1,300-student South Delta senior secondary school.

Last July, the B.C. Utilities Commission approved a $250-million proposal by the publicly owned B.C. Transmission Corp. to build two new 230-kilovolt power lines on its existing aerial right-of-way through Tsawwassen.

Construction has already started on the project, which is part of an electrical power line upgrade for Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. It will serve 700,000 people when it's running in 2008.

But the Tsawwassen Residents Against Higher Voltage Overhead Lines, which filed documents Tuesday asking Canada's highest court to hear its appeal, argues the lines shouldn't be running through their neighbourhood.

They say a potential route through DeltaPort Terminal, the industrial shipping terminal just north of the BC Ferries terminal would be safer.

The route was rejected by the commission, along with five other alternatives.

TRAHVOL, which points to the much-debated, long-term human effects of chronic exposure to electrical and magnetic fields around high-voltage lines, has argued in earlier briefs that government should err on the side of caution when considering major projects.

"I think Canadians want to be reassured that governments and regulators are looking at the health and environmental impacts of megaprojects," said Maureen Broadfoot, spokeswoman for the community group, when asked why the Supreme Court of Canada should hear the appeal.

"Too often they look only at costs and economic implications," she said. "But where something could damage people's health or damage the environment, they should at least have the precautionary principle as part of their decision-making, especially at these times. Hindsight is 20-20 with global warming, second-hand smoke, with asbestos -- things where the warning signs were there but were ignored," she said.

Jane Peverett, president and CEO of B.C. Transmission Corp., said health authorities have said there is no reason to be concerned about exposure levels from transmission lines and the public shouldn't be worried.

"This is safe," Peverett said. "We wouldn't be building it if it wasn't safe."

She said the route, along with alternatives, had been thoroughly reviewed for 21 months, and the B.C. Utilities Commission deemed it was the best location. She said, and the lines would replace those that have been in place for 50 years.

gbohn@png.canwest.com

ksinoski@png.canwest.com

Copyright The Vancouver Sun 2007