Grand RiverKeeper Labrador has been a long time critic of the Muskrat Falls development and the building of a second dam on “our” river, right from the environmental assessment stage and onto the actual construction, building the power lines and transportation of the transformers. Now we follow what is happening at the project, the impacts on the river and estuary as well as social implications. Along with the strong impromptu Labrador Land Protectors, we have participated in many peaceful protests, some resulting in court actions and even jail time for some members.
CBC News Article by Patrick Butler of March 29, 2023 Full article here
Des Sullivan, aka Uncle Gnarley used his pen frequently to voice his opposition as well, as we see in this article where he discusses the cost overruns and project delays. In this CBC Article, Sullivan concludes, that the (Muskrat Falls) Project is an unprecedented fiasco, saddling Newfoundland and Labrador with billions of dollars’ worth of new debt.
Sullivan, the Uncle Gnarley blogger, fears that after spending $13.4 billion on a project whose reliability is very much in doubt, taxpayers in Newfoundland and Labrador can’t absorb much more spending. Already, in a recent submission to the province’s Public Utilities Board, Hydro predicted residential electricity rates on the Island will reach 19 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2032, given its latest construction plans.
Excerpt of article
Des Sullivan doesn’t feel vindicated, even if he was right to warn that the Muskrat Falls project was a mistake. In the end, the warnings posted on Sullivan’s site, which became an outlet for anonymous engineers and other Muskrat Falls whistleblowers, proved prescient.
He doesn’t want vindication. “I want the government of Newfoundland to begin to be responsible,” he said. But how do you fix a project broken in so many ways?
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