Critics wary as plug pulled on drainage project
The withdrawal of the proposed Quill Lakes drainage project has left its critics in a vacuum of confusion and unease.
The Quill Lakes Watershed Association #14 (QLWA) announced the move this week in a news release issued amid mounting pressure from a number of concerned parties. Some called for the province to take a second look at the project, which sought to alleviate considerable flooding in the Quill Lakes area.
In December, Pasqua First Nation filed an application for judicial review of the provincial government decision to exempt the proposed project from the Environmental Assessment Act.
Despite the withdrawal, the First Nation doesn’t see its legal action opposing the decision as “moot,” says Pasqua Chief Matthew Todd Peigan. In a news release Wednesday, he laid bare his suspicions about the project’s withdrawal.
“The position of the Pasqua is that this application is not moot until a court says so,” he wrote. The matter is currently slated to go before a judge in Regina’s Court of Queen’s Bench on Jan 30.
Peigan posed a number of questions outlining the First Nation’s concerns. In short, “how do we know the withdrawal is genuine and final?” his release asked.
RAN OUT OF TIME
The QLWA says it ran out of time to meet requirements laid out by Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency (WSA). But Peigan doesn’t buy that, calling the reasoning “completely unbelievable.”
“They have known about the need to get Water Security Agency approval since early in 2017, and they have known about WSA’s requirement for ‘appropriate studies’ since at least the middle of November 2017.”
He says that if the QLWA is serious about the withdrawal, “they should agree to a court order which prohibits them from proceeding with it.”
Further, he calls for an environmental assessment to be carried out on any future project proposals and that Pasqua’s right to consultation be respected.
Members of the Saskatchewan Alliance for Water Sustainability (SAWS), who were petitioning the federal government for an environmental assessment of the project, were pleased by news of the withdrawal. But they were also surprised, according to Aura Lee MacPherson.
QLWA made a presentation on its proposed project in Regina Beach on Saturday.
Chairperson Kerry Holderness says the purpose of the presentation was to discuss the issues facing the Quill Lakes area and the “concept of ” the QLWA project as a possible solution.
At that time, it was understood by SAWS that the project was still set to go ahead, pending full approval. Come Monday, the group’s members were scratching their heads over what they view as a quick about-face.
“It’s like, holy cow! We did not see this coming,” MacPherson said.
On the same day as the withdrawal, CBC News released an article containing excerpts from emails between the QLWA and the environment ministry. In the article, a University of Saskatchewan professor is quoted describing the correspondence as showing “a very cozy, collaborative relationship.”
Holderness disagrees with the terms used to describe the correspondence.
“We are each working to protect our own interests,” he wrote in an email to the Leader-Post, addressing the claim.
“Have we been given any special treatment in bypassing the procedure? If anything I would say that we are under a complete magnifying glass to make sure that we are doing things properly.”
SAWS is less skeptical than Peigan about the QLWA’s statement that it had run out of time to meet WSA requirements.
“They still needed their hydrology and there’s a couple other big pieces that they needed, so it kind of makes sense,” MacPherson said.
The group hopes the withdrawal offers the province an opportunity to make a “course correction,” which would mean considering any future proposals only after a greater degree of consultation with affected parties.
MacPherson suggested that the province might explore using the excess water as a resource, potentially marketing it to Saskatchewan mining or energy operations.
“This is a real crossroads for Saskatchewan,” she said.
“We could go on to do amazing things, but we could just mess it up, royally.”
Looking forward, Holderness says QLWA hopes “everyone who is a stakeholder in what is happening will continue to discuss the issue and seek possible solutions.”