Regulatory Approval

Regulatory and environmental approvals now in place.

The process began in 2007 with an application to the BCUC.

The Interior to Lower Mainland (ILM) project required a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC).

An application for a CPCN was filed with the BCUC on November 5, 2007.

Following a written review of the Application, the BCUC granted a CPCN for the project on August 5, 2008. View the Commission's decision [PDF, 2.1 MB].

In the fall of 2008 a group of First Nations appealed the Commission's decision to exclude consideration of the adequacy of consultation from the scope of its review of the ILM Project. The BC Court of Appeal agreed and referred the matter back to the Commission and directed that the CPCN be suspended.

The Commission subsequently initiated a proceeding for the purpose "of determining whether the Crown's duty to consult and accommodate the Appellants had been met up to that decision point" as directed by the Court.

BC Hydro is committed to consultation with First Nations and actively participated in the BCUC reconsideration process.

On February 3, 2011, the BCUC rendered a decision on the reconsideration of the adequacy of First Nations consultation. For detailed information, view the Commission's reconsideration decision [PDF, 2.2 MB].

After considering BC Hydro's Compliance Report and the submissions of First Nations intervenors, the Commission issued a decision on September 29, 2011 that BC Hydro had satisfactorily remedied the deficiencies in First Nations consultation and as a result the CPCN suspension was lifted.