Delta power line project will go ahead, premier says

There will be no last-minute government intervention in the construction of controversial new overhead power lines in Tsawwassen and South Delta, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell told the CBC Monday.

An estimated 2,000 residents rallied on Saturday, calling on Campbell to put a halt to the high-voltage transmission lines, which they say pose a health threat.The provincial government approved the plan in March and construction is scheduled to start June 2.

Campbell said the government tried to work with the community to make the project acceptable, and it will now go ahead as planned.

"The community has rejected a number of proposals that were brought forward, including the one that went underground, in the past. So we are limiting the number of towers dramatically," said Campbell.

The BC Transmission Corporation project involves replacing 70 existing wooden power poles along a long-established right-of-way with 20 taller steel structures capable of handling higher voltage lines to provide greater power to Vancouver Island.

A coalition of residents spent an estimated half-million dollars fighting the project, which they say will pass within 20 meters of a local high school and affect 135 homes.

Greg Hoover, one of the speakers at the rally on Saturday, said a series of public forms did nothing to resolve the community's concerns that the high-voltage power lines may have some impact on the health of people living close to them.

"All of these government-run entities follow the same path. They work on the premise that it's a done deal. And they continue on that path, using large quantities of our money to force what they want down our throats, no matter how much damage they do," said Hoover.

The two sides have differing opinions on the health effects of living close to power lines, with many residents expressing concern that the high-voltage power lines could cause health problems for people living under them, and the BC Transmission Corporation saying there is no scientific evidence to back up such concerns.