Guest Post Written by Cabot Martin
As you read this, various crews at Muskrat Falls
are involved in a potentially life and death struggle to contain the raging
Lower Churchill River.
They face a leaking coffer dam and rafting ice
backed by river flows that, in volume, are 25% greater than those at the mighty
Upper Churchill.
The greatest period of risk may well be the next
three weeks - they are racing Old Man Winter -
time is of the essence.
We can only wish them well.
Unfortunately Nalcor has not adequately
documented and explained the various "during construction" flood
risks posed to downstream residents.
However, we know enough to say that those risks ,
whether from collapse of the coffer dam or failure of the North Spur, are real
and substantial enough to warrant immediate action on the evacuation front.
Concern for these risks can no longer be dismissed
as "fear-mongering" as was the case by the Minister responsible for
Dam Safety over a year and a half ago.
Indeed, the basic problem is known to many in the
halls of power, each with varying degrees of responsibility.
Uncle Gnarley's latest piece records the
Independent Engineer's recent graphic description of how Nalcor's Muskrat
actions do not meet acceptable engineering standards across a broad range of
issues -a refreshing bit of candor indeed; please read as a companion to this
piece.
In particular, the Independent Engineer's
documentation of Nalcor's cavalier
attitude to North Spur geotechnical issues presents a picture of what only be
described as reckless behaviour in not keeping a sharp eye on Muskrat's biggest
overall project risk - failure of the North Spur.
Yet, apparently senior Nalcor and relevant
governmental officials , presumably relying on legal advice, do not consider
these and their other North Spur actions egregious enough to bring them within
the realm of a reckless or public endangerment prosecution under the Criminal
Code should lives be lost.
Must be a queasy feeling.
But -
simply put - there isn't any time right now to debate those issues - as
important as they are. We need to get
to that after the present danger has passed.
Right now, our immediate focus should be to pray
the North Spur holds, try our best to fix the coffer dam and determine under
what circumstances we should evacuate Mud Lake and how the hell are we going to
do it.
The 50 souls trying to sleep in Mud Lake tonight
deserve that.
It is an old place in Central Labrador, once a
main settlement, home to many old trapping families. It is located on the south
bank of the Churchill River across from the end of a road that leads a couple
of miles up river to Happy Valley/ Goose Bay. This is where in summer Mud
Lakers leave their cars and keep their boats on visits to " The
Valley".
Better put, they live on the south bank,
Venice-like, along the banks of a beautiful small winding bayou like river or
large brook that flows out from Mud Lake itself to meet the Churchill River
near where that massive river discharges into Lake Melville.
Lake Melville, denying it's name , is a giant
inland sea whose tidal rise and fall stretches far up river - in fact more than
25 miles up-river to the very foot of Muskrat Falls - fresh water on top / salt
water below.
At Mud Lake, the Churchill River is about a mile
across and residents go back and forth
by boat in summer and ski-doo in winter. It is, at the best of times, a
treacherous mile - shifting sand bars in summer and rafting ice during freeze
up and breakup. A complicated marine/river environment with huge natural water
flows - without Muskrat flood levels.
In Mud Lake, the river - it's mood and state is
always on people's minds - but never so much as now.
You'd think the safety of 50 people located a
couple of feet above tidewater right in the path of any Muskrat flood would be a priority -
someone's priority - anyone's priority.
But apparently not - things are far from right in
Mud Lake.
For instance, I am told by a reliable source in
Mud Lake that Nalcor has never had a single meeting in that community setting
out and discussing the evacuation plan should the coffer dam fail when they, as
already announced, recommence filling
the reservoir in the next few weeks.
Not a single meeting.
And as the idea of a "secret "
evacuation plan is too bizarre even for Nalcor , one can only assume that such
a plan simply does not exist - which circles back ,of course, to "reckless
endangerment."
This must change.
Any reasonable risk assessment process would have
to treat Coffer Dam collapse this winter as a real risk to Mud Lake - one that
will increase with each meter the water rises as the reservoir filling resumes.
Consequently, Nalcor and the Minister responsible
for Dam Safety (Mr. Perry Trimper) should immediately send senior representatives
to Mud Lake for Emergency Evacuation
Plan meetings.
They should commit to producing, on a most urgent
basis, an adequate evacuation plan that
meets the realities of local conditions ( best described through the eyes of
the local residents).
The current plight of the residents of Mud Lake
is representative of all that is wrong with Muskrat Falls. It is a good place
to start to clean up this mess.
God help us if our society is so debased as to be
incapable of this.
