C2>r\ COL.& ~\ ~ ~~ C ~ O y""" " ·· : . a . _ c 1 r , ~ " ~ ~ . 7~ ?~~:--.. ;.;" ROBERT J. PELLATI \/,~ ,.' ", .'. ,', COMMISSION SECRETARY /~s"~~~~\ Mr. Cam M. Davidson 4051 Deer Field Rd. Campbell River, B.c. V9H IB2 Dear Mr. Davidson: Re: British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Approval of Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for OYster River 138 kV Line taos and Substation The Commission has investigated your complaints outlined in your letter of June 11, 1997, and enclose for your information, B.C. Hydro's response dated June 26, 1997. In your letter of June 11, 1997 you state that B.C. Hydro has failed to consult with yourself and other residents impacted by the placement of the substation. The Commission recognized that some residents would be impacted by this project and in the Commission's decision of May 1, 1997, which granted a CPCN to B.C. Hydro, the Commission ordered B.C. Hydro to work with those residents to minimize those impacts wherever possible. In your case B.C. Hydro determined that your residence would not be impacted and therefore did not contact you. The Commission believes that this oversight was the result of a difference in interpretation between yourself and B.c. Hydro as to what constitutes an impact. miscommunication as B.C. Hydro assumed your lack of a specific request to meet with them indicated you had no wish to meet them. We note that B.C. Hydro has now committed to meet with you should you wish to discuss the possible impacts on your property. The Commission suggests you contact Mr. Wilkinson at (604) 528-2353 or 1-800-663-1377 after August 7, 1997 as per your letter of July 11, 1997, or when you are available to meet with them. In your letter you mention three impacts which concern you: one is the aesthetics of the substation and transmission lines; the second is with respect to noise from the substation and the third is electro-magnetic fields (EMF). In so far as the aesthetics of the substation and transmission line are concerned, the Commission recognizes that all residents are impacted. While vegetation will not reduce this impact to zero, B.C. Hydro has committed to leaving as much natural vegetation as possible and if necessary will plant additional vegetation for screening. We encourage you to meet with B.C. Hydro regarding your concerns for the aesthetics of the substation site. In regard to the issue of noise from the substation, the Commission notes that your property is located 2,000 feet away from the substation and on the opposite side of the existing 138 kV transmission line . LETTER No. L-37-97 ii; . ) .' ' .. ~ . ,r/. ; Y .; SIXTH FLOOR, 900 HOWE STREET, BOX 250 . f1 J i . ", ' 0 z VANCOUVER, B.C. CANADA V6Z 2N3 . . " ' C2 r ) ~ J TELEPHONE: (604) 660-4700 BC TOLL FREE: 1-800-663-1385 FACSIMILE: (604) 660-1102 July 17, 1997 There also appeared to be some .. .12
2 According to B.C. Hydro's standards, the level of noise from the substation should be below 40 decibels at the substation site and will fall off to below 25 decibels at your property. This low level may be further mitigated by the vegetation screen. With respect to the EMF issue, if your concerns are with alleged health effects, the Commission determined in 1989 that the scientific evidence to that time did not support a link between EMF and cancer. Although there have been numerous studies since then, the weight of scientific evidence still does not support any link. The Commission therefore cannot recommend mitigation measures for EMF. Yours truly, /l&~,~ (-1/ v Alison Connack for: Robert J. Pellatt RWRJssc Enclosure cc: Ms. Darlene M. Barnett Senior Vice-President Marketing and Customer Services British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority BCH/Cor/CPCNOysterRiver & C. Davidson
RC:-audro -,' w f"'l - iffll (If iJ/lI".)('i\/(C \ 2.C. :.J-;lL:--:'-=~~ I RC('\~l\/r.:-rl ,(~ 1\ r-'!,~:'l;'!\'\!! :-, '''~-::'I . Darlene M. Barnett : I LV J.... J ~ L Lt ..J. f-.. \.) I ,I I ',./ ' .. 1 __ .' u ',~ '- ........ Senior ~ice-President .JU~~7 6 !q97 /,"\ 26 June 1997 I. Marketmg and Customer SerVICeS - I - . / ) 1 Phone: (604)623-3602 : ..... FOR :;."" I. (ndSc ; I r L-/ 6 r \ -JZ \ : ~ ~ 5 i 0 Fax: (604) 623-4311 \ .. 7 ... FOR RE. SOURCE. . J~'W'l I ..... I~l Fa .,' ,'" ~ u--r .<. L J, J'<11 , G CO _ " C • ' ' I ~ F --' ..... \ ._--/_. Mr. R.J. Pellatt Commission Secretary British Columbia Utilities Commission P.O. Box 250 600 - 900 Howe Street Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 2N3 Dear Mr. Pellatt: Re: British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Customer Complaint - Oyster River Substation CPCN In response to your letter of 18 June 1997 requesting comments on the 11 June 1997 letter from Mr. Cam Davidson, we provide the following information. B.C. Hydro has continuously included the Deerfield Road residents throughout our public consultation process and has specifically communicated to property owners on and around Deerfield Road on the following several occasions: • 10 October 1996: Letter and News Brief #1. The mailing list for this communication was prepared in May 1996. It appears that Mr. Davidson's property title, and those of some other Deerfield Road owners, was still registered in the developer's name at this time which is why he was not on our original mailing list. • 28 October 1996: Site Visits. As noted by Mr. Davidson in his letter, B.C. Hydro representatives met with the Davidsons on this date and included their names on the mailing list, instead of the developer's, for their property. The Davidsons' comments from this meeting were considered in selecting a site which would have the least impact on Deerfield Road residents. • 16 January 1997: Letter. This communication was sent to all property owners, including the Davidsons, who were most affected by the substation. The letter described the two shortlisted substation sites, at this time, and invited property owners to contact British Columbia Hvdro and Power AuthOrity ..' .')3 DunsmUir Street. Vancouver 8.C. VhB ';R3
2 B.C. Hydro if they had any concerns. We believe the two shortlisted sites selected had the least impact on the Davidson property and our records indicate no communication from Mr. Davidson in response to our letter. • March/April 1997: News Brief #2. • 2 June 1997: Letter and Information Package. This communication was sent to all residents as directed by the Commission on 2 May 1997. All written communications to property owners provided contact phone numbers, including a toll-free number, of B.C. Hydro staff who would be able to provide further information regarding any of the concerns property owners may have regarding the substation and its associated feeders. A more comprehensive description of our public consultation process is found in the CPCN Application (see page 4 of Application, Appendix B, and Supporting Documents: Reports on Public Consultation, Phase I (March 1996) and Phase " (December 1996)). Also, copies of all letters and other supporting materials are found with the CPCN Application or the Information Package sent to residents on 2 June 1997 (Information Package attached to letter sent to the BCUC on 23 June 1997). With respect to the visits conducted in the area on June 10 - 11, 1997, our B.C. Hydro staff concentrated on visiting those property owners who we believe would be directly impacted by the substation and its associated feeders. Furthermore, in our most recent communication of 2 June 1997, we invited all residents and owners to call B.C. Hydro to arrange one-on-one meetings on these dates when consultation staff were visiting the area. We consider Mr. Davidson's property, at 4051 Deerfield Road, to be not directly impacted by the Oyster River Substation project and, as such, he would not have been automatically included on our list of site visits. Since Mr. Davidson was not on this list and had not called to request a meeting on these dates, we unfortunately missed him when we were in the area. As requested by the Commission, we have attached a report which details this latest consultative process in June 1997 (Attachment 1). Please note this report is as complete as possible given that the house numbering system in this area is sometimes indistinct or incomplete. Additional VISIts and consultation work are scheduled for August and September 1997 when detailed survey work wi" be carried out for the purposes of mitigating specific impacts of the distribution feeders. Once again, we wi" focus on those properties directly impacted; however, any
3 resident or owner is invited to request a meeting with us. Should Mr. Davidson wish to meet prior to this time or should he have any questions, he may contact Mr. Barry Wilkinson, Public Affairs Coordinator, directly at (604) 528-2353 or toll free at 1-800-663-1377. In closing, I would like to point out that a comprehensive consultation process - which included mailings, public meetings, advertisements, press releases and individual property visits - was used to gather resident and property owner concerns. All information gathered was given due consideration when selecting the best reinforcement option for the Courtenay -Campbell River Area. Yours very truly, ~arTene M. Barnett U ~,enior Vice President Marketing and Customer Service Attachment
Oyster River Substation CPCN Log of Resident/Property Owner Contacts - 10 & 11 June 1997 Visits by B.c. Hydro staff - D. Mitchell, Regional Engineering and lB. Wilkinson, Public Affairs -~ .- -_ . . - - --- - - --_ ..... _---I Address I Visit I Contact I Impact and Outcome I Follow-up 2932 York Road Yes Personal Tennination pole, tree trimming ... owner satisfied Just details of tree work 4066 Sevem Road Yes (3) Left Pole on side of property, will be largely hidden. Owner Yes, at survey time in no ans. notice asked to contact Regional Engineering. No response. August/September 4065 Severn Road Yes Personal Pole movement - poss. Minor tree work .. owner satisfied At new line construction Large undeveloped lot west of No Personal Talked to owner (Hydro employee) and reviewed None required park plans .....1 10 concerns 3046 York Road No None No real impacts, no tree work, but one pole on property Will be calling owner frontage. Owner has called Regional District Director 3056 York Road No None No impact Next mailing or suryey time 3072 York Road No None " " 3076 York Road No None " " 3086 York Road Yes (2) Left V. minor pole relocation, minor tree trimming. Resident Yes, at survey time in no ans. notice asked to call Regional Engineering. No response August/September 31 00 York Road Yes Personal One additional pole and minor tree work. Owner knows " of project and electricity needs of area. Reluctantly accepts. 3112 York Road Yes (3) Left 2 Lose small coni fer and two large cottonwoods on road " no adult notices allowance. Owner asked to contact Regional Engineering home and plan for immediate follow-up. No response. . 3134 York Road Yes (2) Personal Additional pole to be moved for second driveway, trees " saw both in road allowance (cottonwood and alder) will be owners removed. Discussed EMFs ... owner satisfied. 3152 York Road Yes (3) Personal Major tree impacts. Almost all of property tree-screen is Yes, after survey results are saw both in the road allowance Discussed mitigation ... survey, discussed with MOTH . 24 June 1997 Page I
owners thcn approach MOTH for relaxation of offset and possible tree replacement to bc recommended to Regional Engineering. Owner thanked us for exploring options and mitigation measures. 3162 York Road Yes Personal, Minor trimming and possible removal of one large fir. " owner of Owner is satisfied with probable outcome. 3152 York Road 3172 York Road No None No impact Next mailing or survey time 3200 York Road No None " " 3360 York Road No None " " 3390 York Road No None " " 3406 York Road No None " " 3430 York Road No Yes, Slight realignment of service connection, loss of two or Yes, at survey time in owner three small conifers. Owner not concerned, but wants to August/September phoned see route of new connection. Lot 1 Deerfield Road No Yes, No impacts, however, TIL tap is some 80 feet behind his Wi II be calling owner owner property through heavily treed bush. Still trying to called on contact owner by phone. 20 June 40S1 Deerfield Road No None No impacts. Owner has contacted BeUe rc. Public Will be calling him with all consultation process. offer to meet if he wishes 4021 Deerfield Road No None No impacts. Will make further efforts to I contact (see comments for Lot 1 Deerfield Road. 401 1 Deerfield Road No None Same(?) owner as Lot 1 Deerfield ... see comments. Will be calling owner I Lot 5 Deerfield Road No None No impacts Try to trace owner again ! 3971 Deerfield Road No None Attempted to visit 3 times in October 1996. Closest home Will attempt further to substation ... .475 ft. contact ---- ~---- -~ 24 .June 1997 Page 2
3437 York Road No None One extra pole, but home is well setback in the trees Next mailingl survey time 3405 York Road Yes (3) Left 2 Possible limited tree clearing at property line, and Contact established and no ans. notices question of present pole on private land(?) Owner called will resume at survey time. and plan and satisfied that we will further review at survey time. Doesn't appear to be a real issue. 3195 York Road Yes (2) Left Slight pole relocation, will be more visible due to Next mailing or survey notice adjacent clear-cutting operation. O\vner never contacted time Hydro. 31 ?? York Road No None Minor, pole siting. Empty lot O\\'I1er lives at 3173 York " Rd 3173 York Road Yes Left No impacts to this lot, tree screening to be left " notice untouched. Owner never contacted Hydro. 3 169 York Road Yes Personal Owner not happy that feeders have to come down York Next mailing Road. Says he is selling. Hendrix cables go underlover as they move across to the other side of the road here. 3 157 York Road No None Feeders on other side of road " 3 147 York Road No None " " 3137 York Road No None " " 4140 Vaughn Road No None Pole anchor could impact. Discuss/revicw at survey time 3 I IS York Road No None Feeders on other side of road Next mailing 3097 York Road No None " " 4129 Forfar Road No None " " 4030 Forfar Road No None " " ?? Enquist Road No None " " 3041 York Road No None " " 303 7 York Road No None " Possible pole anchor here. Next mailing or survey time. 302? York Road No None " Move of anchor. No impact. " 3011 York Road No None " Next mailing 4090 Fulber Road No None " " 24 June 1997 Page 3
???? Fulber Road " " Line moves back to this side of York Road .. no impact " 4089 Baxandall Road No None Possible pole relocation for feed onto Bax. Rd. Pole At survey time would move from a present trespass and traffic hazard position. Minor impact only. 4090 Baxandall Road Yes Personal Two poles to locate adjacent to this property. Lengthy " discussions with owners. One small clump of trees to be removed and a recommendation for some replanting. Owners satisfied with Hydro recommendation , 2947 York Road Yes Personal A pole relocates here from the other side of York Road. " Siting reviewed and acceptable to owner. Recommend one/two replacement tress here. 2939 York Road No None Feeders on other side of road Next mailing 2937 York Road No None " " 2935 York Road No None " " 2933 York Road No None " " 4093 S. Highland Highway No None " " 24 June 1997 Page 4
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.