On March 20, at an evening community information session at the Golden Civic Centre, the Columbia River Treaty Review team met with 35-40 residents from Golden, Invermere and the surrounding area who came to get an update on the Treaty review timelines and to learn about the results of BC Hydro’s Treaty Review modelling studies. The team also talked to residents about U.S. perspectives on the Treaty and about local interests and issues identified in previous Columbia River Treaty Review consultation workshops and potential domestic solutions. Residents’ questions focused mainly on forestry, road access to Kinbasket Reservoir and equitable distribution of compensation for historical and ongoing impacts. People also had questions around the Non-Treaty Storage Agreement and the feasibility of generation at Surprise Rapids.
 

On March 21, the Columbia River Treaty Review team met with approximately 20 Basin residents from Nelson, Kaslo and the surrounding areas. At the evening session at the Prestige Lakeside Resort in Nelson, the Treaty Review team shared information about updated timelines on the Treaty Review public consultation, BC Hydro’s Treaty Review modelling results, U.S. perspectives and local interests. There were many ecosystem and fish passage questions and several people discussed the possibility of removing either Arrow or Duncan Dams to improve ecosystem function. There were also questions around the Canadian Entitlement and about adding more turbines to Treaty dams and other dams along the Columbia River main stem to compensate for the loss of the Canadian Entitlement if the Treaty is terminated.