Romaine River Complex

Photo of La Grande Chute

The Romaine River Complex is a four dam 1,550 MW hydro project. Hydro-Quebec has tabled their EIS with the Canadian government and if approved construction could begin in the summer of 2009. This fall I intend to paddle the Romaine River with a team of kayakers to explore its rapids and experience the vast wilderness of the Romaine River Valley before it is altered by Hydro-Quebec forever. Below is a proposal to raise funds for this trip. I plan to exhibit photos and video after the trip to show people who may be interested in experiencing the Romaine River and supply the information needed to make future trips a reality before all of the dams are completed.

Romaine Complex Quick Facts

-279.2 km2 (170.9 mi2) of total reservoirs
-142.2 km2 (87 mi2) largest proposed reservoir
-4 dams ranging in height from 32.7m (105 ft) to 121m (388 ft)

-dam at La Grande Chute is a proposed run of the river, other 3 are with drawdown (reservoirs) -1550 MW generating capacity
-227.2 km of newly constructed roads
-over 500 km of new transmission line corridor
-affecting more than 300 km (184 mi) of river

Links About The Project
http://www.hydroquebec.com/generation/projets/pop/pop_romaine.html
http://www.hydroquebec.com/romaine/index.html (french only, but better information than the english page)
http://www.romainealliance.wordpress.com/ (Canadian opposition to hydro development on Romaine)

Romaine River Expedition September 2008

Purpose: To explore the whitewater kayaking potential of the Romaine River and bring awareness to it and other threatened rivers in the Lower North Coast Region of Quebec. The Romaine River has seen many canoe descents (currently the Romaine River Alliance is paddling the river), yet there are a handful of whitewater kayaking descents (see American Whitewater Journal 1988 Jan/Feb pg. 22). There are many interesting rapids and falls, and like the Petit Mecatina is a seldom run whitewater classic.

Background: Hydro Quebec is planning to begin construction of four hydroelectric generating facilities along the Romaine River. “The environmental impact assessment for the Romaine hydropower complex was tabled with the competent authorities in January 2008. Hundreds of engineers, scientists and local stakeholders, including Innu community members who shared their traditional knowledge, labored for four years to produce this 2,500-page study, complemented by 50 background reports. The estimated $6.5-billion project calls for four generating stations with a total installed capacity of 1,550 MW and annual output of 8.0 TWh to be developed on the Romaine River in the Mingan area. If construction gets under way in summer 2009, commissioning of the facilities should begin in late 2014 and be completed by the end of 2020.” (Hydro Quebec 2007) The dams will be built between 52km and 192km from the river’s mouth. Four reservoirs will accompany these facilities ranging in size from 12km2 to a remarkable 140km2. This latter reservoir is estimated to flood 84 linear kilometers of river. Also, over 200km of access roads will be built for construction and operation of the facility and over 500km of transmission line corridor are proposed to connect the Romaine Complex to the power grid.
The Romaine development will affect many aspects of a complex and undisturbed ecosystem. Woodland Caribou, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Moose, Wolf, Golden Eagle, Atlantic salmon, and countless wildflower, insect and tree species inhabit the area surrounding the Romaine River. Canada’s boreal forest and their associated peat deposits and wetlands represent some of the world’s largest carbon reservoirs. Inundation of these carbon sinks reduces absorption of green house gases and may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions, namely methane, through O2 depletion in the reservoirs as drowned organic matter begins the decaying process. Altered river discharge and erosion patterns, increased water temperature from thermal stratification in reservoirs, and forest fragmentation from roads and transmission lines will all be major changes to the area’s ecological balance.
Several Canadian environmental groups have been calling foul on Hydro-Quebec for an incomplete and self-funded Environmental Impact Statement. Most notably is the Romaine River Alliance, a group of concerned scientists and river enthusiasts, who have been highlighting the EIS flaws and have planned a 48-day canoe expedition that is currently underway.
The Romaine River Alliance, in a letter to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, raises many environmental and social issues that were not adequately addressed in Hydro-Quebec’s EIS. Among them is the loss of recreational areas.
“According to the guideline sections 2.2.2 and 4.2.2 the EIS is required to address loss of recreational areas. Unfortunately Hydro-Québec’s findings do not take into consideration the significant growth that is taking place in ecotourism today. In section 35.1.4.2 regarding canoe routes on the Romaine River, it is stated that no groups traveled by train to Oreway with the intention of paddling the Romaine River. Additionally, it is stated that few groups paddled the river in 2001 and 2004, and the groups that did were no more than one or two boats. The skill level of paddlers and amateur canoeists is increasing, as is the desire to experience remote and pristine areas. In 2007 multiple groups paddled the Romaine River including a group from Ottawa YMCA canoe club and PaddleFoot, an Ontario based outfitter that began their trip in Oreway. Furthermore, it is projected that a significantly higher number of canoeists will be on the river in 2008, including a group from Alliance Romaine.
The Environmental Impact Assessment also states in section 35.1.4.2 that there are no commercial trips being offered on the river to date. As stated above, a commercial trip from PaddleFoot Inc. paddled the river in 2007. Again, it is likely that more groups will seek out the Romaine River in the future. It is suggested that Hydro-Québec expands their research area to include outdoor enthusiasts from the rest of Canada and from the United States.
While Hydro-Québec successfully paraphrased the maps of the Romaine River available from the Féderation de Canoe et Kayak (FQCK) in 1983 (see section 35.1.4.4), it failed to mention methods to ensure that the Romaine River remains a challenging canoe route, as it should according to section 2.2.2 and 4.2.2 of the Guidelines. According to the information provided nothing will be done to ensure that rapids, waterfalls, portage trails or campsites are maintained. It is likely that knowledge of areas of importance for canoeists is entirely unknown to Hydro-Québec as they used maps from 1983 to conduct their research. It is strongly recommended that a member of the Hydro-Québec team paddle the river with Alliance Romaine this summer in order to better understand areas of importance for canoeists.
Additionally, the environmental impact assessment does not adequately address the cumulative effects on recreational tourism, according to section 4.5.2 of the Guidelines. Other rivers are regularly mentioned as canoeable routes (see section 35.1.4.2), yet it is never mentioned that the Magpie is already dammed. There are an additional fourteen dams owned and operated by Hydro-Québec on the North Shore that currently limit the amount of river exploration outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy in Québec.” (Alliance Romaine 2008).

Along with the Romaine River Alliance’s concerns this issue hits close to home for me as well. My home state of Vermont has negotiated long-term contracts with Hydro-Quebec. Currently Vermont purchases about 1/3 of its power from them. By 2016 these contracts will be expired. Fortunately, the state does not officially recognize Hydro-Quebec as a renewable energy source. Yet it categorizes HQ electricity as clean (non GHG emitting) energy. Vermont is at an advantage for low carbon-emitting energy sources with Hydro-Quebec and Vermont Yankee Nuclear. Despite this rosy picture there are serious trade-offs at stake, namely the negative affects of large scale hydro. There are many new initiatives proposed in the Vermont Energy Plan 2009, renegotiating with HQ is one of them. However, it does not take into consideration other negative environmental factors besides GHG emissions. The report states that Vermont's lights would not go out without Hydro-Quebec. Instead it would expose the state a more volatile energy market, but could be offset by other energy initiatives such as developing local generation and increased efficiency planning. This is a complex and sticky issue, but at the center of it all is one of Quebec’s largest free-flowing rivers.
It is more important then ever to explore the whitewater reaches of the Romaine and other rivers, like the Petit Mecatina, along the north coast. In the past 15 years Hydro-Quebec has spread their developments eastward along the north coast damming its largest rivers. As stated in the letter above, a rising number of river enthusiasts, increasing skill level, and a growing desire to visit wild and remote areas could potentially see the Romaine as not only a premiere wilderness canoe trip, but a premiere whitewater kayaking trip as well. There is little (one article in CanoeRoots spring 2006 and American Whitewater Journal 1988 Jan/Feb pg. 22) recreational information about this river and alomst no information that compliments the contemporary state of whitewater kayaking. I would like the chance to experience and document the Romaine River before it is changed forever. In doing so I hope to raise awareness to the places that are being affected by large scale hydro development in Quebec and also entice future groups of whitewater kayakers to challenge rapids and enjoy the wilderness of the Romaine and other threatened rivers of the Lower Coast before they are gone.

About the River: From its headwaters the Romaine River drops southward, 1500 feet, off a plateau and into the Saint Lawrence River. Its flow averages between 10,000 and 15,000 cubic feet per second during the summer months. There are three canyons, the first drops 300 feet 9 miles,

the second 300 feet in 8 miles,

the third 200 feet in four miles.

The final canyon is sure to hold some interesting whitewater. Besides these highlights, numerous rapids and falls punctuate long stretches of calm water. About 30 miles from the river’s mouth is La Grande Chute.

It is a double stage waterfall dropping a total of 100 feet and is also the site of the first dam to be constructed. The three canyons will be affected by the other three dams.
It is the classic Eastern Canada pool drop characteristic. This natural character makes the Romaine well-suited for a variety of skill levels and canoes, kayaks, and rafts alike. It is possible to portage as much as one would like, choosing to either shoot the rapids, or simply enjoy the flatter sections which make up a majority of the river.
Approaching the river can be done from several different ways. Easiest and most expensive is using float planes from Havre Saint Pierre and landing on the river or nearby lakes and tributaries. Another way which has been done by the only commercial trip down the river is riding the train to Oreway and embarking on the river from its headwaters. Alliance Romaine is approaching the river from the Ossokmanuan Reservoir in Labrador paddling upstream out of the Labrador watershed and into the very top of the Romaine’s headwaters. Due to time constraints we have opted for the fly-in, which is the easiest and perhaps most appealing to the largest number of river enthusiasts.

Plan: Fly upriver 200 km landing upstream of the first canyon. Paddle the Romaine to where it joins the Saint Lawrence River at the town of Havre Saint Pierre along highway 138. During the trip we will document rapids and spend time filming and photographing the areas where the dams will be built. Also we will conduct interviews with local officials and other interested parties to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding this development.

For more information or the help support the expedition contact:
Fred Coriell
fredcoriell@gmail.com
802-236-0230
visit www.riversenses.blogspot.com