Project Description
Roe served as the Independent Environmental Monitor (IEM) for the construction of the Narrows Inlet Hydroelectric Project, completed between 2015 and 2019. The project involved constructing three run-of-river hydroelectric facilities with a combined 33 MW of power generation capacity. These facilities are situated on shìshàlh Nation traditional territory, near Sechelt, BC. Owned and operated by tems sayamkwu, a joint venture between the shìshàlh Nation and BluEarth Renewables Inc., the project featured challenging construction components, including three main intake structures, three tributary intake structures, a >800m horizontal tunnel, a >1200m vertical Alimak shaft, a lake tap, and ~50km of transmission line alignment with a submarine cable crossing near Skookumchuck Narrows. The Project’s environmental permitting was multi-jurisdictional, requiring provincial water licensing under the BC Water Sustainability Act, Crown land licensing under the BC Lands Act, federal authorization under the Fisheries Act, and federal authorization under the Navigable Waters Protection Act. Additionally, the project underwent review by the BC Environmental Assessment Office, receiving Environmental Assessment Certificate (EAC) No. E-13-04.


Our Role
Chris Macmillan served as the Independent Environmental Monitor (delegate) for the project’s construction, following provincial water licensing and the project EAC. Roe developed an Environmental Management System (EMS) for design-build construction, incorporating iterative review of component work plans submitted for review/compliance audit to the office of the IEM before construction progression. New stages of design-build construction were not allowed to proceed until the respective component work plan met the conditions of overarching project approvals, including the EAC. Additionally, Roe oversaw routine independent monitoring of active construction to audit compliance with the respective work plan(s), the project CEMP, and permit/approval conditions. Roe also identified and reported environmental incidents directly to applicable regulators. The developed EMS also included clear methodologies for identifying, tracking, and resolving environmental non-compliance issues through a process of progressive enforcement, starting with field advice and escalating to stop-work order issuance.

Roe maintained liaison with DFO, EAO, Sechelt Nation, Independent Engineer, Owner (BluEarth Renewables), and Contractor (Jim Dent Construction).