Kenney Dam
The Kenney Dam is a rock-fill embankment dam on the Nechako River in northwestern British Columbia, built in the early 1950s. The impoundment of water behind the dam forms the Nechako Reservoir, which is also commonly known as the Ootsa Lake Reservoir. The dam was constructed to power an aluminum smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia by Alcan, although in the late 1980s the company increased their economic activity by selling excess electricity across North America. The development of the dam caused various environmental problems along with the displacement of the Cheslatta T'En First Nation, whose traditional land was flooded.
History
Selection of the dam site
Following the Second World War, the Canadian government invited the Aluminum Company of Canada to explore the potential of various sites around the country for hydroelectric power generation. British Columbia was particularly interested in attracting the aluminum industry. Premier Byron Johnson introduced special legislation authorizing the provincial cabinet to do what it thought necessary to establish a new aluminum industry in BC. For its part, Alcan was concerned with locating its energy-intensive aluminum smelters in close proximity to an inexpensive source of hydroelectric power. Chilko Lake in the Chilcotin region was the original proposed site for the Kenney Dam, but due to preliminary calculations by Fisheries and Oceans Canada showing that the Chilko Lake held up to three-quarters of the Fraser River's total sockeye salmon spawned in the region, the provincial government eliminated the site from the proposal. In 1948, following feasibility studies, Alcan decided to pursue a project on the Nechako River to power a large aluminum smelter to be located at the new townsite of Kitimat. A public opinion poll taken in 1949 indicated that an overwhelming majority of British Columbians supported the Alcan's plans for hydroelectric development on the Nechako. Support was not universal, however: for example, the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission objected to the use of a salmon river for power.Alcan had originally proposed that the BC government build the dam and the company buy the electricity from the province, but the government declined. Instead, Alcan signed the Kemano I agreement with the province on December 29, 1950 which granted the company rights to divert water from the Nechako above the dam and Nanika River downstream of Nanika Falls, permission to dam the Nechako and divert a portion of the original flow through a tunnel to a hydroelectric facility at Kemano, tax exemptions, and favourable water rental rates. Alcan also received timber rights and mineral rights on the Crown land that was flooded, and was given the opportunity to purchase land for the townsite of Kitimat at a rate of $1.60 per acre.
Construction and technical specifications
Construction of the dam and its associated facilities began in 1951 and continued until 1967, although the dam became operational in 1954. The dam, located in the Canyon of the Nechako River, is a rock-filled, clay-core dam measuring 97 metres high and 457 metres wide. Construction involved over 3 million cubic metres of material. Concrete was injected in bedrock fissures below the dam to stabilize the foundation. Until the W. A. C. Bennett Dam was built on the Peace River in the 1960s, the Kenney Dam was the largest rockfill dam in the world. The dam was named for the Hon. Edward Tourtellotte Kenney, then-Minister of Lands and Forests in the government of Premier Byron Johnson.Behind the dam, the Nechako Reservoir filled from 1952 to 1957, flooding a series of lakes in the drainage basin of the upper Nechako River. The water of the reservoir filled an area of 92,000 hectares. However, the level of the reservoir can vary by more than 3 metres depending on rainfall and power generation needs.
The dam, which sits at the east end of the reservoir, forms part of a hydroelectric complex which also includes the Skins Lake spillway, which regulates water levels both in the reservoir and downstream. On the west side of the reservoir, a long intake tunnel running through the Coast Mountain range brings water to penstocks for a vertical drop to the 8 units of the 890-MW Kemano Generating Station. The basic design of the Kenney Dam-Kemano power station inspired a similar development in Quebec. The Bersimis-1 generating station, built between 1953 and 1956 by Hydro-Québec, shares many features with Alcan's project.
Concurrent with the hydroelectric development of the Nechako, the Alcan smelter, and townsite of Kitimat were created.
Relocation of the Cheslatta T'En
Flooding of First Nations land
At the request of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Department of Indian Affairs, the Murray Dam and the Skins spillway were constructed across the Cheslatta River to help cool water temperatures in the upper Nechako River in order to minimize the impact on salmon spawning from the development of the Kenney Dam. As a result of the discharged water from the Murray Dam and the spillway, the traditional lands which had been home to the Cheslatta T'En people for at least 10,000 years, were flooded and caused the relocation of approximately 200 Cheslatta people. Villages were demolished and burned prior to the flooding with most families unable to return to collect their belongings and as water levels rose, it has been noted that coffins and skeletons from their traditional grave sites were washed away with skeletal remains being allegedly found in and around Cheslatta Lake.Relocation and compensation
The Cheslatta T'En people were given approximately 10 days notice before they were relocated to live in overcrowded tents at a temporary location 30 miles north of their reserves in Grassy Plains. They were responsible for transporting their own belongings by means of wagons and consequently were forced to leave most of their traditional possessions behind. After months of living in poor conditions at the temporary location sites, the Cheslatta people were eventually resettled on marginal farms scattered over large areas, which proved disconcerting for this once close-knit community. According to DIA documents, the Cheslatta people asked for $108,000 in compensation along with payments for their new land, traplines and monthly pensions, however requests were denied and claims were dismissed. Payments in the form of money were demanded for their new land and any constructional improvements within their community. The Cheslatta people were compensated an average of $77/hectare with no payment covering moving expenses, compared to non-native individuals who received relocation compensation of $1,544/hectare along with covered moving expenses. It was only a year after the Murray Dam was constructed that the band members received their compensation payments.The Cheslatta people were also regulated on where to hunt and when to fish which combined with the land payments forced many people to seek welfare benefits. Their traditional practices became increasingly difficult as they were forced to conform to a new way of living and consequently death tolls rose from tuberculosis, suicide and alcoholism as a result of their poor living conditions. Requests for assistance in health care, education and housing were denied until 1964 when the relocation sites were officially turned into federal reserves.
DIA records show unanimous support by the Cheslatta people for the surrender of their territory, however many band members state that no formal assent was conducted and the signatures on documents are forged by Indian affairs officials. It is also widely debated whether or not the legal rights of the Cheslatta people were presented as many claim that they were unaware of their power to refuse the requests of the Government of British Columbia, along with their ability to have a third-party advisor. The Cheslatta people also claimed that Alcan had assured them most grave sites would be unaffected by rising water levels, however any grave sites running the risk of inundation would be transferred to higher grounds and the Cheslatta would be informed. Alcan, however, claimed that the Cheslatta had agreed to flooding the grave sites, so long as two recent graves were moved and commemorative markers were placed above the flood waters. In accordance with this understanding, Alcan moved two graves while the rest of the grave markers were burned.
Subsequent settlements
In 1990, the Cheslatta filed a $122 million court case against the Canadian government over DIA fraud, duress and breach of trust, however the case was settled out of court for slightly less than $7 million. In 1998, Members of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation filed a Statement of Claim with the Supreme Court of British Columbia disputing all agreements and licenses issued to Alcan by the Federal and Provincial governments. The appeal was dismissed in Alcan's favour with no further legal actions in effect.On January 30, 2012, Rio Tinto Alcan finalized the transfer of approximately 11,000 acres of land to the Cheslatta Carrier Nation. The Cheslatta received the land as a form of freehold ownership with an estimated value of $1.2 million