Gros Morne National Park says no to hydro line proposal

Officials with Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of Newfoundland are opposing proposed power transmission lines from the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project in Labrador.

Nalcor Energy, the Crown corporation in charge of the Lower Churchill project, has outlined its preferred route to transfer electricity from the proposed 2,800 megawatt project to the island, which would cut through the park's protected terrain.

Gros Morne, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers almost 2,000 square kilometres of coastline and the Long Range Mountains.

Peter Deering, manager of resource conservation at the park, said it's important the park not be disturbed by transmission lines.

"We do not support the proposal and we are not prepared to accommodate the proposal at this time," Deering told CBC News. "One of the reasons Gros Morne was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was because of its wilderness values."

Nalcor's proposal for its link between Labrador and the island includes a two-kilometre wide corridor for transmission infrastructure through most of the land portions of the link and 200-metre wide corridors through select land portions, including those through Gros Morne.

There are currently smaller transmission lines running through the park, but Deering is worried the proposed infrastructure would be far more noticeable.

"What they described to us was a transmission corridor that saw a clearing width of anywhere from 85 to 200 metres wide and the construction of towers between 40 and 50 metres height. It would be literally impossible to hide this thing."

Deering said Nalcor can't build the transmission link without the park's permission, but that officials at Gros Morne would consider alternative proposals less disturbing to the park setting.