1,700-bed Site C dam 'mini town' — complete with gym and movie theatre — could be headed to local landfill

A massive, 1,700-person work camp paid for by B.C. taxpayers could be headed to the local landfill by the end of the year, a new report warns.

The accommodations were built to support construction of the Site C hydroelectric dam near Fort St. John in northeast B.C., which the province says is the largest public infrastructure project in B.C. history.

Opened in 2016 at a cost of $470 million, the camp includes a movie theatre, gymnasium, fitness centre, cafeteria and 21 three-story dorms, each with about 80 rooms consisting of a bed and bathroom. Google reviews from people who've stayed there note a coffee shop and games room, outdoor fire pit and beer on tap at the bar.

Now, local leaders are trying to stop the camp from adding piles of waste to the local dump — a problem one sustainability expert says is all too common when buildings are demolished across British Columbia.

"It's like a mini town, almost," says Leonard Hiebert, chair of the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) where the camp is housed. 

But that "town" won't be needed as the dam is producing power and the site transitions from construction to operation, which will require far fewer workers. Once that happens, the camp will be replaced by a cultural centre, and B.C. Hydro is trying to figure out what to do with the unneeded accommodations before they go to waste.

News that the camp could be destined for a local landfill was first reported by Energetic City, a local news site in Fort St. John, during its coverage of a March 20 regional district meeting.

During that meeting, the PRRD board received a report from its environmental services department informing them that a contractor for B.C. Hydro had recently reached out asking about the sorting and storage capacity at the North Peace Landfill.

The report said that in total, the camp buildings make up 665,443 square feet along with "concrete slabs, asphalt and steel piles" associated with demolition work scheduled for later this year.

"It totally caught me off guard," said PRRD director Brad Sperling, who represents the area that includes the dam and dump where the camp could be disposed of, at the meeting. 

"This is just totally wrong."

Other directors expressed similar surprise, as well as concern over the costs associated with the massive amount of materials which would fill up the landfill far sooner than planned, taking years off of its life.

Site C spokesperson Greg Alexis says it is true that the hope has always been to find a new use for the work camp, but so far, they have not been successful.

As a result, he said, preliminary work is being done to find out what other options are in place, including recycling and disposing of the buildings locally.