“As an active new landslide severs the only road to the Peace Valley community of Old Fort, residents want to know why the B.C. government is refusing to release information about an earlier landslide in the same location, near the Site C dam construction site.
“What kind of information do you have that is so bad that you can’t share it?” asked Kali Chmelyk, one of 150 Old Fort residents who has been under an evacuation alert since June 19, shortly after residents first noticed cracks and buckling in the road following a heavy rainfall.
Since then, an advancing wall of mud has eliminated more than 150 metres of the Old Fort access road, which was rebuilt after an October 2018 landslide wiped out part of the road, destroyed a home and prompted a local state of emergency.
~snip~
Last year, The Narwhal learned through a Freedom of Information request that the 2018 landslide, in an area underlaid by numerous natural gas leases and near one entrance to the Site C dam worksite, was classified as a “dangerous occurrence” under B.C.’s health, safety and reclamation code.
That triggered a geotechnical assessment to identify “the root cause and contributing factors” of the slide, according to a briefing note for Peter Robb, mining and energy assistant deputy minister.
In November 2019, the ministry told The Narwhal the assessment was not yet complete.
The Peace River Regional District subsequently filed a Freedom of Information request seeking all reports related to the landslide, which displaced eight million cubic metres of earth, cutting off Old Fort for one month.
But the provincial government refused to release the reports, telling the district, as reported by the Alaska Highway News, that disclosure would be harmful to law enforcement.
“What does that even mean?” Brad Sperling, chair of the Peace River Regional District, asked at an April board meeting. “I’m really kind of confused about their response to this.”
The district has requested that B.C.’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner review the decision.
“The ministry did not respond to a question asking what information must still be gathered in order to conclude the investigation into the slide, which displaced eight million cubic metres of earth and blocked the only road to Old Fort for a month.
Old Fort resident Kali Chmelyk said community members are getting contradictory messages about the landslide, noting “everything surrounding the slide is very hush-hush.”
For example, when residents ask about the temporary road into the community and when it will be paved, they’re told the slide is still dangerous and still moving and not to stop their cars on the road because it isn’t safe, Chmelyk said.
“But then when you bring up ‘so it’s dangerous, what does that mean?’ Then you get the response of ‘oh no, everything’s fine, it’s not dangerous, it’s not moving anymore, there’s no danger to safety, blah, blah, blah.’ ”
“These are our homes and we want to know we’re safe where we are. I don’t want to be told in six months ‘it’s possible that this could happen again, so we’re just going to buy you out.’”
There is no valid reason to withhold information from these residents. Continuing to do so, only breeds more bad feelings and is at this point, cruel. Its untenable to live with this over your heads. Is the province trying to find a way to avoid culpability and liability? I don’t know ,but I do know that when government officials go to this extent to keep info from people left in limbo, it doesn’t pass the smell test. I also know the city of Fort St.John has some questions to answer they don’t seem to want to address either.
This is the info passed onto me, that residents still want answers to.
- What’s the long term plan for Old Fort?
- When will the province release all info retaining to the original land slide in old fort and even with the freedom of information act it still won’t be released ?
- What is the province trying to hide ?
- Why won’t the province respond to any old fort resident questions, via email, telephone or letter?
- Why is bc hydro site c project still going ahead with river diversion when old fort doesn’t have a safe reliable evacuation route out of old fort community ? ( Moti quoted at the lido meeting that the slide will never be stable , we can’t fix it , it’s not cost effective to build alternative routes in old fort )
- Why can’t prrd ,the province, bc hydro disclose their ERP plan. because if Old Fort ever has to be evacuated due to any issues with site c during construction, there is no reliable evacuation route?
- Moti ( Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) was quoted in 2018 that Buffioux Creek is exceeding flow and it is a touchy subject that they can’t send any ditch water to the creek . The city owns it and we can’t touch it, yet the city of Fort St. John still upgrades the city drainage, which sends more water down the creek every year endangering Old Fort family’s . The creek is dammed up in multiple spots. Fort St. John needs to fix it before it causes property damage or loss of life – please respond to old fort community email please
Westcoast Views with Laila Yuile 
This is the problem for the NDP, they continued with a ill thought out Liberal plan, it is now turning sour and they just cannot say they made a mistake.
The NDP never ever make a mistake and why they learned absolutely nothing from their two see drubbing in 2001,
Not my fault reign supreme.
Big mistake as we live now in the information age and when things turn sour and one tells porkies, they are mercilessly fact checked.
Site C is part of BC “boosterism” where we build big to gain big votes; but this is not the age of WAC Bennett and a very young BC, rather is is a rather decrepit province, robbed of its excellence by corrupt and inept politicians busing making their political friends rich.
It is how we do things and with an utterly corrupt mainstream media the NDP blunder on and on trying to get elusive positive news.
What we have is a government in fear, afraid of bad news before an election, afraid of “FastFerry” style debacles; afraid of the truth and afraid of the voter.
Sadly both major BC political parties have been reduced to nattering neigh-bobs of nonsense, who would promise a 5 cent cigar if they are elected.
Like Dickens Marley’s ghost, the NDP are dragging a long and wound of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and FastFerries wrought in steel. Soon Site C and the Broadway subway will be added.
The gang that just cannot shoot straight. What is wrong with the truth these days?
LikeLike
I believe no matter what is done too shore up the dams foundations, nature’s billions of tons of moving earth in the area will eventually win. The dam will be like a toy standing in the way. But we will be lied too by the higher powers and all wise beings of greatness and wisdom until the train crashes.
LikeLike
I do believe Kennylad is on to something there. all that dirt moving.
In my opinion the NDP/B.C. Hydro haven’t responded because they don’t know how and they haven’t made up their minds. Much of it may depend upon an election. If they go to the polls sooner than later and win a majority they can say Site C is not going to work and can the whole thing. If they wind up with what they currently have, they’ll continue until there is a “really, really” big slide and both the B.C. Lieberals and NDP will agree to say, we didn’t see this coming.
they’ve spent $10B so far. I’d have preferred they spent it on something more useful, you know like health care, education, drug treatment, affordable housing, the usual stuff for kids.
Perhaps they are waiting for a big earth quake so the whole thing will slide and they can walk away from it. The people of Old Fort deserve to know what is going to happen, but then the people over in Sechelt still haven’t had their problems settled either.
The NDP could work on a “story” which blames the B.C. Lieberals, B.C. Hydro and the engineers, and let them wear it and try to walk away from it with something the public will buy. Some of it may depend upon how the return to school works out.
LikeLike
Update:
Law suit filed on this issue. These people have been shafted.
https://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/fort-st-john/old-fort-residents-file-landslide-lawsuit-1.24269457
LikeLike