On the heels of District of Squamish council's decisive stand against the proposed Garibaldi at Squamish (GAS) resort, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) directors have joined the chorus of critiques with a request that an environmental assessment certificate not be granted.
Based on the Environmental Assessment Office's (EAO) technical analysis of the project, SLRD director of planning and development Steven Olmstead stated Monday (April 26) stated a lack of information about water supply and hydrology, fish, wildlife and their habitats, vegetation and geotechnical questions means "it cannot be determined if means have been identified to prevent significant adverse environmental impacts of the proposed project."
Olmstead added public safety is also a major issue since information is lacking over proposed reservoirs and dams, "especially where each of the dams is large enough to trigger an environmental assessment by itself."
"To issue an EA certificate under the above circumstances will, in our view, undermine the credibility of the provincial environmental assessment process," he wrote.
Olmstead added local governments identified issues with the proposal in 2006, and key questions about scale and design, water supply, environment and socioeconomics remain.
"Despite the passing of more than two years since staff last reported on the GAS environmental assessment, the key issues remain incompletely addressed."
Squamish Coun. Doug Race suggested the board make their opposition to the issuance of an EA certificate clear, as Squamish district council last week's when a motion was unanimously passed to send the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) a letter expressing its rejection of the project.
SLRD Chief Administrative Officer Paul Edgington crafted a new resolution stating the board does not support issuing an EA certificate, either conditional or final. The board unanimously passed the resolution and a letter to that effect will be submitted to the EAO as it collects last comments before sending a final report to the Ministry of Environment within a few weeks.
The list of reasons in the letter included the absence of information in several areas with which to assess potential impacts, concerns about the proposed reservoirs and dams and whether they would provide the development with a reliable water supply, the proposal's inconsistency with the RGS and a socioeconomic analysis that is "overly optimistic" and fails to address issues such as new resort failures and aging of skiing's core demographic.
Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed said the resort municipality would be sending comments to the EAO relating inconsistencies with the draft Regional Growth Strategy and the lack of credible information about socioeconomic impacts.
Melamed called on the board to pass a stronger statement rejecting the proposal, saying the corridor agencies have been generous in giving the GAS applicants time and they have been treading water for far too long.
"It's really time to pull the pin," he said.
The GAS proposal Master Plan anticipates a total of 22,502 bed units at full build-out, from 1,480 single-family homes, 806 multi-family units, 1,762 resort condominiums/apartments and 1,675 hotel rooms.
Five dams, ranging from 20 to 50 metres in height, and five open-water storage reservoirs would be proposed to supply potable water and water for irrigation, fire-fighting and snowmaking. The reservoirs and dams would cover about 18 hectares.
The proposal also includes two golf courses and practice facilities located on either side of Highway 99, a village centre with a cultural and recreation area, and a commercial and retail centre and possible Squamish Nation cultural centre at the Highway 99 entrance to the resort.
