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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2002

Minnesota state regulators must grant a full hearing to address complaints about the effects of a hydropower project on a Cree First Nation in Canada, The Minneapolis Star Tribune says in an editorial today.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is considering a plan for one company to buy power from a Canadian company known as Manitoba Hydro. The Pimicikamak Cree Nation is opposing the project because of impacts to the environment.

The paper says the complaints have merit. "There is little question that the hydroelectric projects of the 1970s were an environmental and social catastrophe for Cree nations along the Nelson River. Eighty-five percent of the Churchill River was diverted into the Nelson and backed up behind its dams. The water was impounded not in deep gorges but across vast prairie; high flows were moved from springtime to winter."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Fair hearing / PUC owes it to Manitoba Cree (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 12/18)

Relevant Links:
Manitoba Hydro - http://www.hydro.mb.ca
Xcel Energy - http://www.xcelenergy.com/index.htm

Related Stories:
Effects on Cree Nation considered (4/27)
Controversial power plan Oked (12/1)
Cree leader criticizes hydro (4/17)