by Nancy Gardiner and James Hrynyshyn
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 11/97) - The NWT Water Board has returned Glacier Power's application to build a massive hydro project for the North Slave and will not give the plans any further consideration at this time.

Glacier Power recently submitted applications for development of a series of dams and hydroelectric generators on the Barnston and Hoarfrost Rivers, which flow into the East Arm of Great Slave Lake.

By diverting water flow in several rivers through canals and tunnels, the company hopes to generate electricity and sell it to diamond mines in the region.

In a letter outlining the reasons for the rejection, water board chairman Gordon Wray says the board feels "insufficient information and studies relating to the proposed use of waters and disposal of waste were provided."

The letter was dated July 18.

As a result, the board was unable to evaluate the "qualitative and quantitative" effects on waterways that might be affected by the proposed series of dams.

Wray asked the president of Glacier Power, Doug Main, not to resubmit the applications "until substantially more information, analysis and consultation are incorporated into your proposals."

A large number of letters have been received suggesting the need for more developed proposals, according to Wray.

Critical areas requiring more detail include wildlife studies, water flow and other hydrological data, socio-economic impacts, feasibility and market studies and local public consultation.

Among those with a strong interest in the proposal are Lutselk'e chief Florence Catholique and band councillor Ron Desjarlais. The two returned late last month from a fact-finding trip to B.C. to investigate the company. Catholique was in transit, however, and Desjarlais said he wasn't prepared to discuss the project yet.

Main, who is in the process of setting up an office in Yellowknife to oversee the project, said he has responded to the board's rejection by asking for clarification on what the board has done.

Main said he isn't sure if the board has rejected the proposal outright, a move which would allow other companies to submit applications for a similar scheme and jump over Glacier's priority for approval, or merely wants more information.

"If we're going to go ahead and do this work -- we're talking about millions of dollars in environmental work -- we want to know if someone else could have priority over us," he said.

Though the rejection is an unquestionable setback for Glacier, Tom Boychuk of investor relations for Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. said the revisions required won't change his company's plans to buy Glacier Power.

Canadian Hydro announced in early July it has an agreement in principle to acquire 100 per cent of Glacier Power Ltd. of Yellowknife, NWT. The main assets of Glacier Power consist of the water applications in the Barnston River area.

In the hydroelectric business, the applications are the equivalent of a staked claim for mining rights.

Glacier's goal is to provide hydroelectric power to the new diamond mine to be operated by BHP Diamonds in the Lac de Gras area, according to a Canadian Hydro press release.

Another diamond mine proposed by Diavik and Aber Resources in the same region would represent another major customer of the power.

So far, however, no mining company has expressed an interest in buying electricity from Glacier. BHP, for example, plans to install a diesel generator of its own.