James Bay Hydroelectric Project Research Articles

Introduction. The boreal forest and global change

The boreal forest is the second largest biome in the world containing 33% of the Earth's forest cover ([FAO 2001][1]) of which approximately 25% is natural. It is circumpolar and shares similar taxa across its range. It has approximately 20 300 identified species. Along with the tropics, the

Probabilistic slope stability analysis for practice

The impact of uncertainty on the reliability of slope design and performance assessment is often significant. Conventional slope practice based on the factor of safety cannot explicitly address uncertainty, thus compromising the adequacy of projections. Probabilistic techniques are rational means to quantify and incorporate uncertainty into slope analysis and design. A spreadsheet approach for probabilistic slope stability analysis is developed. The methodology is based on Monte Carlo simulation using the familiar and readily available software, Microsoft® Excel 97 and @Risk. The analysis accounts for the spatial variability of the input variables, the statistical uncertainty due to limited data, and biases in the empirical factors and correlations used. The approach is simple and can be applied in practice with little effort beyond that needed in a conventional analysis. The methodology is illustrated by a probabilistic slope analysis of the dykes of the James Bay hydroelectric project. The results are compared with those obtained using the first-order second-moment method, and the practical insights gained through the analysis are highlighted. The deficiencies of a simpler probabilistic analysis are illustrated. Key words: probabilistic analysis, slope stability, Monte Carlo simulation, spatial variability.

Cross-Cultural Environmental Perception of Wilderness

This paper investigates the environmental perceptions of three disparate culture groups: Vermonters, non-Native Quebecers, and Native Cree of northern Quebec. All three groups were affiliated with the James Bay hydroelectric project. The hydroelectric project, per se, was not the focus of this research endeavor. Instead, this study merely took advantage of the environmental awareness promulgated by the project. The concept of “wilderness” was qualitatively employed to probe environmental perceptions cross-culturally. Pressing each group to define, locate, and assess the value of wilderness provided insight into each culture's framework regarding land use and exposed the mental scaffolding that undergirds their environmental conceptualizations.

A History of the Original Peoples of Northern Canada

The success of this book over the years is due in large part to Crowe's approach. While the majority of works on Canadian history are essentially European in perspective, Crowe has endeavoured to interpret the history of the original peoples of northern Canada from a native standpoint. He has attempted to provide a work that native Canadians can use to learn the broad outlines of their cultural and historical development as well as details about their people, places, and events, while giving non-native people a more accurate version of northern Canadian history and ethnology. Crowe begins with the emergence, in prehistoric times, of the three great groups of hunting people -- the Algonkian, Athapaskan, and Inuit -- describing their contribution to the cultural heritage of native peoples today. He devotes particular attention to the various native tribes and some of their outstanding leaders; to the fur trade, its effects, and the emergence of the Metis people; to the devastating consequences of trading and whaling for the Arctic and the Inuit who lived there; to the Yukon Indians and the Gold Rush; to the coming of Christianity; and to the impact of governmental and economic encroachment on the North and the native peoples' response to this -- moving into the boardroom and elected office. In his new epilogue, Crowe surveys the major land claims since 1974 -- some settled, most still under negotiation, and some, like the James Bay hydro-electric project, being challenged. Crowe also explains the complexities of the land-claims process and points out the irony inherent in native peoples having to help create numerous foreign laws and institutions in order to protect an essentially simple way of life. He describes the native peoples' movement into and up the ranks of government at all levels and emphasizes the important role played by regional and national native associations, such as the Assembly of First Nations. He outlines the changes and developments in education in the North and provides a detailed assessment of the still very difficult economic situation, stressing the native peoples' concern that economic development in the North not be divorced from environmental considerations.

Use of geotextiles in the James Bay hydroelectric project : Lafleur, J; Pare, J J Geotext GeomemV10, N1, 1991, P35–52

Use of geotextiles in the James Bay hydroelectric project : Lafleur, J; Pare, J J Geotext GeomemV10, N1, 1991, P35–52

Guest Editorial: The James Bay Hydroelectric Project - Issue of the Century

... The James Bay project has become a major issue because it involves a number of factors that represent a critical change in our outlook over the past twenty years. The first of these is the growth in popularity and scientific credibility of the environmental movement. Environmental awareness has flowered since the first phase of the James Bay project was begun. The environmental impact of the project was not a matter of great debate in the early '70s and no formal environmental assessment was ever done prior to construction of the first phase. It has only been since the mid-1970s that environmental impact assessments of major government projects have been performed on a regular basis in Canada. A surge in public concern about the state of the environment in the late 1980s came at the time Hydro-Quebec began preparations for the Great Whale phase of the project. As a result, the environmental impacts of the first phase have come under close scrutiny, and many of the concerns expressed by opponents in the 1970s have been substantiated. It has been shown that environmental impacts of the first phase include: methyl mercury contamination of water in reservoirs and downstream rivers and mercury accumulation in fish; reversal of the natural seasonal flow patterns of rivers; conversion of La Grande estuary from a saltwater environment to a freshwater one because of regulated peak flow in winter; changes in water temperatures in affected rivers; loss of wetland productivity; production of greenhouse gases by the decomposition of vegetation in inundated areas; destruction of shoreline and shoreline habitat (creation of dead zones) around reservoirs due to fluctuating water levels; riverbank erosion downstream from dams; and interference with animal migration routes. This presents a far different picture from the one advanced in the past of hydroelectricity as a clean, environmentally safe energy source. A second factor has been the internationalization of environmental issues. ... A third factor is our growing understanding of, and respect for, native peoples. ... Today, the idea of progress is undergoing a massive shift away from material and economic growth for growth's sake and toward what has come to be known as "sustainable development." The James Bay project might have been considered "the project of the century" in an earlier era. However, in the era of sustainable development, it must be regarded as something quite different.

Use of geotextiles in the James Bay hydroelectric project

This paper reports on the design considerations and the experience gained from the placement of 400 000 m 2 of geotextiles in temporary and permanent water-retaining embankments of the James Bay hydroelectric project in Northern Québec, Canada. Scarcity of suitable granular materials and ease of installation of fabrics favoured their use in the earth and rockfill structures. Their main function was to act as filters in temporary cofferdams between the coarse rockfills and the upstream cores made of cohesionless silty moraine. Performance tests indicated that, for placement under water over dumped rockfill, heavy-duty non-woven fabrics had to be specified to avoid punching by large angular stones. In rolled embankments constructed above water, geotextiles with masses greater than 300 g/m 2 worked satisfactorily because of the possibility of working out a better bedding surface at the interface.

Societal impacts of utility overinvestment: The James Bay hydroelectric project

Overinvestment has been a new and common characteristic of most electric utilities in the past few decades. This has led to overcapacity which has been translated into serious economic costs. Costs to society as a whole are more difficult to pinpoint but are nevertheless real and widespread. In the case of the James Bay hydroelectric project in Quebec the consequences of overinvestment have been felt deeply throughout the energy sector as well as in the rest of the economy, and they may be threatening the financial health and the reputation of the utility itself. Environmental impacts are also severe, although they are mentioned only briefly in this paper.

THE AQUATIC DANCE FLY FAUNA OF A SUBARCTIC RIVER SYSTEM IN QUÉBEC, WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF HEMERODROMIA (DIPTERA: EMPIDIDAE)

AbstractAs part of a preimpoundment baseline study in the James Bay Hydroelectric Project in Northwestern Québec, systematic collections of aquatic insects were made in 1974 and 1975 in lakes and streams of the Rivière du Castor drainage. The aquatic Empididae are reported on here: they comprise 12 species, one of which is new (Hemerodromia fibrina n. sp.). Except for the boreal Metachela albipes, the fauna is remarkably temperate in character and composition. Emergence patterns are similar, though foreshortened, to those observed in southern Québec, and there are no bivoltine species. Most species are lotic and many thrive in fast waters (Neoplasm scapularis, Roederiodes recurvatus), but there is nevertheless a distinct lacustrine fauna (H. fibrina and perhaps also Chelifera rastrifera). The bog stations harbored only the widespread Chelifera palloris.

Laboratory test results on self-hardening grouts for flexible cutoffs

The addition of cement to a bentonite slurry gives a complex material called self-hardening grout which slowly sets to become a clay-like solid. The properties of these mixes are highly dependent on the bentonite and the cement used. Most information available up to now comes from European countries where the technique has been developed. As very little information was available about such mixes in North America, an experimental program was initiated to study their applicability for cutoff walls of certain dams of the James Bay hydroelectric project. The present paper describes the characteristics of different mixes tested in their fluid and solid states. Keywords: bentonite, cement, slurry, cutoff wall.

Preliminary Impacts of the James Bay Hydroelectric Project, Quebec, on Estuarine Fish and Fisheries

Flow alterations related to hydroelectric development have affected both the fish stocks and the Cree Indian subsistence fishery in the lower LaGrande River, northern Quebec. Evaluated against several years of baseline data, the initial biological impact of the project on fish populations, mostly whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and cisco (C. artedii) appeared to be relatively small. Nevertheless, fishing activity in the lower river and the estuary largely ceased from 1979 to 1981, due to physical modifications of traditional fishing areas and other social and economic effects related to the hydro project. Some fishermen modified their methods and continued harvesting in the affected area, but others abandoned the affected area and fished lakes and rivers along the recently constructed road network. It is concluded that earlier impact assessments fell short of predicting these impacts.Key words: environmental impact, social impact, hydroelectric projects, northern development, James Bay, northern Quebec, subsistence fisheries, native harvesting, Coregonus clupeaformis, Coregonus artedii

An introduction to the James Bay hydroelectric project

Simulation modeling helped to assess the anticipated environmental and engineering problems for the James Bay project in Quebec, an area in which ecological recovery is slowed by the cold climate. Development plans for the sparsely populated region included 150 mostly earthen dams and lakes. Secondary development required facilities and roads for up to 16,000 people. The model approach is designed to anticipate and monitor environmental impacts and to integrate this knowledge into impact models of future reservoirs. 3 references, 2 figures 1 table. (DKC)