Blue Water Power Corporation of Abbotsford is proposing a 15 MW (megawatt) run-of-the-river waterpower project on Mud Creek, which is located east of Blue River.
A referral from the provincial government on the proposed project was received for information by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board of directors during its Feb. 18 meeting.
Staff would bring the proposal before the board again for resolution prior to a permit being issued.
The proposed power project would be located upstream from Mud Lake and Mud Lake Delta Provincial Park. In addition, there would be a transmission line roughly 15 km long to carry electricity back to the main powerline north of Blue River.
The project proponents are seeking an investigative license that would enable evaluation, sampling and feasiblity studies of the site to assess the viability of water power generation there.
The provincial government indicates minimal disturbance on the land is anticipated during the investigative license stage.
TransAlta has operated a 19 MW small scale hydro plant on Bone Creek, which is about 20 km north of Mud Creek, since 2011.
Many other streams in the Blue River area have small scale hydro projects proposed for them but most are still in the concept stage.