Another pair of First Nations has withdrawn from its legal challenges against the Site C dam.
The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation quietly dropped their judicial review of the dam on July 16, court records show. The case was to begin in federal court Monday.
The two Alberta nations had filed suit against BC Hydro and the federal government over approval of the $8.8-billion dam on the Peace River. The bands argued an environmental review of the project did not consider downstream impacts on the Peace Athabasca delta, part of their traditional land.
The two nations, signatories to Treaty 8, said the delta has been devastated by drastically lowered water levels since the construction of the WAC Bennett dam in the 1960s.
The delta, declared a world heritage site in 1983, is home to a number of threatened wildlife species, and includes lands traditionally used by the nations for hunting and fishing.
Calls to the two bands, and their lawyer, have not yet been returned.