NWT, Tłı̨chǫ to study possible hydro plant ‘at or near Whatì Falls’

The NWT and Tłı̨chǫ governments say they are assessing the viability of a hydro plant on the La Martre River in the vicinity of Whatì Falls.

In a Tuesday news release, the governments said a hydro project could “support Indigenous ownership and leadership while providing clean, reliable power, training and employment opportunities for Tłı̨chǫ citizens and businesses.”

Whatì Falls is a protected area that Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty said last year holds “deep cultural, spiritual, and ecological importance to the Tłı̨chǫ people.”

Now, a feasibility study will help determine whether a hydro plant in the area “strengthens our self-sufficiency and creates lasting benefits for the Tłı̨chǫ people,” Lafferty was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

The Tłı̨chǫ Government did not provide a response to interview requests over the past week.

Work to evaluate a hydro plant at or near Whatì Falls, known as the Nàı̨lı̨ı̨ Power Project, remains in its preliminary stages.

The governments say connecting a new hydro facility to the existing Snare system – which operates not far from Whatì and powers Behchokǫ̀ and Yellowknife – “could help reduce reliance on diesel across five communities during drought conditions, while supporting resilient, low-carbon economic growth in the Northwest Territories.”

A working group will be established to oversee the feasibility study and provide recommendations.

While this week’s memorandum of understanding does not mention the area’s protected status, it does commit to assessing “the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of development on the La Martre River, including its potential impacts and benefits to the lands and waters in Mǫwhì Gogha Dè Nı̨ı̨tłèè [the traditional area described by Chief Monfwi].”

The memo adds: “Any project identified as viable through the Feasibility Study may only proceed to construction with the support of the TG and as a project owned by the TG or an entity controlled by the TG.”

A hydro plant is not mentioned in the latest five-year strategic plan for the Whatì Falls area, but the project has been discussed in general terms in documents going back a decade or more.

Fortune Minerals, which is hoping to open a mine near Whatì, is a potential customer if such a facility goes ahead.

At a regulatory meeting last week, a senior Fortune executive said the company is “always hoping that the Tłı̨chǫ will develop the Whatì Falls river project, and then we can connect to it.”

‘How we want to build’

The two governments say they will jointly advocate for federal funding to back the project.

Existing electricity infrastructure in the NWT is, for the most part, ageing and increasingly unreliable.

Most hydro dams in the territory are many decades old, and even some of the diesel generators relied upon when hydro fails are similarly dated.

The NWT is already trying to expand its Taltson hydro system, in the South Slave, to offer power to Yellowknife and other areas north of Great Slave Lake. Doing so is expected to cost billions and the project is not yet funded.

The eventual cost of building a hydro plant on the La Martre River is not yet clear, as it’s too early to know the scale of any project that might emerge from the feasibility study.

“As we continue the work of improving and advancing strategic infrastructure across the Territory, the Nàı̨lı̨ı̨ Power Project is a reflection of how we want to build infrastructure in the North through strong partnerships with Indigenous governments,” NWT energy minister Caroline Wawzonek was quoted as saying.

“Situated in an area that meets the conditions for clean and reliable energy, this project will bring additional hydro capacity online, improving the resilience of our system, and also result in new opportunities and benefits for the Tłı̨chǫ people and Northerners.”