BCIA Okanagan Branch is excited to present two short talks for the May Lunch and Learn. The Okanagan branch welcomes registrants of any other branch to attend.

In the first half of our Lunch session, Maureen Grainger, PAg will provide an overview of FortisBC Electric then drill down into an overview of the Kootenay System from a hydroelectric dam perspective. A brief history of the dams and West Kootenay Power (FortisBC Electric) will lead into the intricacies of the Columbia River Treaty, the International Joint Commission Order, Grohman Narrows, the Canal Plant Agreement and how this impacts fisheries in the Kootenay System. Maureen has been working in the Environmental field since 1986.  A graduate of BCIT (Civil Engineering Technology - Water Resources, 1986) and Royal Roads University (BSc Environmental Science 1997; Masters in Environmental Management 2005; Grad Cert Values Based Leadership 2017; Climate Change Adaptation 2019, 2022) her career has taken her from working for the BC Ministry of Environment to consulting and more recently with FortisBC where she is an Environment Manager on the Electric side of the company.  Maureen’s number One is her pup Gracie who shares her passion of being outdoors throughout the year.

The second half of the session, Catherine Hayes, PAg will provide an introduction to a project on a natural gas transmission line and what it can look like. We will dig into steps required to support environmental management on projects with several different sensitivities within the project footprint including an active corn field, First Nations Reserve land and instream work. Catherine has been working in the environmental field since 2006. She holds a BA(Hons) from Queen’s University in Environmental Science and Geography and a Certificate of Technology in Sustainable Resource Management from BCIT. Catherine worked in environmental consulting for a number of years with experience in a wide range of topics and has been with FortisBC’s Sustainability and Environment team for almost 5 years now, primarily supporting natural gas operations.

Zoom meeting link and passcode will be emailed out the day prior.

Cost: Free for BCIA Registrants

PD Hours: 1

Zoom Meeting ID: 874 5386 3432
Passcode: 157926