The province is seeking feedback as part of a public consultation process for the new Columbia River Treaty agreement-in-principle (AIP) on key elements that was recently announced between Canada and the United States.
The AIP was a result of six years of negotiations between the United States and Canada, which also included representation from transboundary Indigenous Nations in the Columbia Basin — the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations.
With the AIP now in place, the province is seeking to engage with residents of the Columbia Basin to provide information and to contrast the terms of the new AIP with how it compares to the original treaty.
A video with representatives from the Canadian negotiating team explaining the details is set to be released in early August, while the province will be hosting a virtual information session in September, with a date and time to be announced.
Following the virtual information session, the province will also be hosting a series of community meetings in the region, again, with dates and times to be determined.
In addition to public feedback, the province is also connecting with the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee and the Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee, both of which are comprised of local government representatives from across the region.
While the engagement process takes place, both countries will begin the process of drafting amended treaty text that reflects the terms of the AIP, which will also include feedback from the public.
Once a modernized treaty has been drafted, it will need to be approved by the B.C. government and ratified by the Canadian and U.S. federal governments. There is no set date when a modernized treaty will come into effect, however, both countries have committed to getting it in place as soon as possible.
The original Columbia River Treaty was a water sharing agreement between Canada and the United States that was ratified in 1964. Through the original treaty terms, three dams were built in British Columbia — Mica, Keenleyside, and Duncan — while the Libby Dam was built in Libby, MT.
The original treaty focused on power generation and flood-risk management downstream of the Columbia River, while modernization efforts also focused on ecosystem values and considering treaty impacts as a "one-river" system.
Specific items covered through the new AIP include increased domestic flexibility to manage reservoirs levels from treaty dams in B.C. and a reduction in the so-called "Canadian Entitlement" — Canada's share of the downstream power generation benefits.
Both Canada and the U.S. will annually co-ordinate 15.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of reservoir storage space behind Canadian treaty dams to optimize hydropower generation in both countries. Additionally, Canada can unilaterally decide to reduce the co-ordinated storage to a minimum of 11.5 MAF in each year through 2039, and 10.5 MAF from 2039-2044 for their own domestic purposes.
The agreement also outlines U.S. compensation to Canada for flood risk management; Canada will receive annual payments of $37.6 million (USD) indexed to inflation until 2044. Further, Canada will receive $16.6 million in additional benefits from in the operation of the Canadian reservoirs annually to 2044.
Modernized treaty terms also include significant participation and advocacy from Indigenous Nations in the Columbia Basin, which was non-existent when the original treaty was ratified decades ago.
The agreement calls for the creation of an Indigenous and Tribal-led advisory body that will provide recommendations on how treaty and other hydrosystem operations can better support ecosystem needs and Indigenous and Tribal cultural values, through the lens of a 'One River" approach to ecological health of the Columbia River system.
Additional items include establishing water flows for salmon and better cross-border information sharing, cooperation and coordination for salmon reintroduction efforts,
A multiparty transboundary working group will be formed to work towards addressing common interests in the Kootenay/Kootenai river system such as ecosystems and aquatic objectives, recreation and flood-risk mitigation on both sides of the border.
More information about the Columbia River Treaty AIP can be found online.
