Yellowknife (Feb 25/05) - A city-endorsed plan to expand a power station near the scenic Niven Lake walking trail has several Yellowknife environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts up in arms.

"One place after another is being compromised in favour of development. At what point does it stop?" asked resident Marianne Bromley.

A construction crew works along the Niven Lake Trail, laying the groundwork for a new electrical substation in the nature preserve.

Earlier this month, city council sold Northland Utilities a plot of land beside an existing electrical substation near Niven Lake, just north of downtown Yellowknife.

Council also gave the utility company the go-ahead to expand the facility as part of an eight-year plan to upgrade the electrical system in the capital.

Replacing wires

While the measure passed through council with little fanfare, residents were surprised this week to see several trucks parked along the walking trail that skirts the lake and workers busily replacing transmission wires.

"There is no buffer zone," said Bromley.

Al Mueller, Manager of Consumer Services with Northland Utilities, said an area near the walking trail had been flattened to allow trucks access to the construction site.

He realized some residents were concerned about the project -- which is going ahead in land designated as a nature preserve -- but said the expanded substation will have a "minimal" environmental impact.

"The nature trail itself will not be infringed upon," he said. "We will not go in there and clear-cut. We will keep the environmental damage to a minimum."

Construction crews will remove about 10 small trees to keep them from interfering with power lines, build a chain-link fence to protect the substation and blast some rock, Mueller said.

To help improve the aesthetics of the facility, the company will landscape in front of the substation, plant a line trees along the highway leading out of Yellowknife and build a walkway allowing easy wheelchair access to the trail.

"We are committed to acting environmentally and responsibly," Mueller said.

The Niven Lake area, located just north of downtown Yellowknife, has been a frequent battleground between developers and environmentalists.

Niven Lake round one

Last year, residents launched a lawsuit against the city and successfully delayed construction on nearly 100 trailer-style homes near the lake.

"Here were are, one year later, and it is the same thing all over again," said city councillor Kevin O'Reilly, the only member to vote against the location of the expanded sub-station.

"I think there is a failure of council to learn from the past."

Jamie Bastedo, an environmentalist and author, criticized the city for allowing Northlands to build on the shores of Niven Lake, an area zoned as a nature preserve.

"The designation is a rubber stamp until some development comes along," he said.

Under city guidelines, certain installations are allowed in protected areas, including public utilities. But that qualifier means the nature preserve designation means "diddly squat," said Bastedo.

The upgrade to the power station is part of a long-term plan to boost electricity flowing into Yellowknife, Mueller said. Old transmission wires will be replaced and the number of substations reduced. The measures will increase the efficiency of the system, reducing the amount of fossil fuels necessary to generate electricity, Mueller said.