"Six Nations green energy projects start paying off in 2015 as the HCCC and SNEBC look for more venues"

By Donna Duric and Lynda Powless, Writers

Six Nations will start to see millions flowing into the community this year from an estimated $120 million in green energy deals negotiated by both the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) and Six Nations Band Council (SNEBC).

By 2035, the end of the 20 year deals, $120 million in total revenues will have been received by the SNEBC and Confederacy.

The SNEBC is expected to receive an estimated $4.5 million a year for the next 20 years based on its current projects, with the first $4.5 beginning to flow this year (2015).

The HCCC is expected to begin receiving $1.02 million a year based on current projects.

But 2014 already saw three of band council's energy projects begin to pay dividends to the community valued at $257,000.

The First Solar Walpole Project, worth $227,000 (already received); the NextEra Energy Project, worth $8.7 million; and the Capital Power project, worth around $7 million were scheduled to send $15,000 each ($30,000) last fall to post secondary according to economic development charts.

The next year will see money start to flow from band council's remaining six projects: the Samsung­-Grand Renewable Energy Park, the Penn Energy­-Brantgate Solar Farm, the Boralex-Port Ryerse project, the Prowind-Gunn's Hill project, and the two Brant Renewable Energy projects.

Six Nations Economic Development (SNED) did not respond to requests for comment.

But at SNED community information sessions Planner Amy Lickers has told the community a trust fund managed by a community board of advisors will be set up in 2015 to manage and disperse the monies. She said the monies could be used for a variety of community needs, from subsidies on residents' utility bills to youth initiatives.

The trust will be controlled by the Six Nations Development Corporation, which is being formed she says, through feedback from a 2011 community study called "We Gather Our Voices."

In 2011 SNED spearheaded 19 think-tank sessions in which they said they gathered community opinions on the issue of economic development.

Although the proposed framework declares the corporation will be "arm's length" from elected council, SNEBC is the 100 per cent shareholder, and there is the possibility that SNED and the departments under it could become departments under the corporation.

The 2011 study noted that there is general distrust within the community when it comes to band council's economic development ventures.

"There is a lack of trust in community leadership from a lot of community members," said Lickers when a final report on the study was presented to the community in 2013. "This leads to very limited strength because we don't have that unity in the community and it's hard for us to move forward because there is no strength, so we're always going back and forth. We tend to concentrate on a lot of our failures we've seen in the past. It has become our nature (not to trust)."

The report notes that band council has been pursuing economic development initiatives since 1979 with limited success.

"This can be attributed to a lack of business knowledge by political leadership, and a lack of transparency, accountability and due diligence," the report notes.

One of the most glaring examples of those failures is the notorious Grand River Mills project, a yarn factory that would have been located in the still-vacant 70,000 sq. foot Oneida Business Park warehouse. Six Nations has since also lost $5 million in the failed En-Eco Tops incinerator project at the landfill before launching an as yet to be heard, legal action to try and recoup those costs.

Despite those failed projects, SNED keeps plugging ahead with economic development opportunities, saying "economic independence is an absolute necessity for creating and maintaining a self-governing, healthy and sustainable community" on Six Nations.

The corporation would be run by a board of governors that is answerable to the community, the report says. Council can only own shares, not the corporation itself, according to the framework.

But there is lingering distrust against band council and any connection of economic development projects to band council was seen by some as negative, the report noted.

"That's why governance affects our economy," said Lickers.

Lickers said solving the governance issue is important to creating the corporation because there is an element of risk for companies getting involved with Six Nations development if there is a split in governance.

"We Gather Our Voices" project leaders had approached the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council to talk about the economic development corporation in 2013 but have not been able to get on the agenda Lickers said.

The HCCC, through its development and planning department, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, (HDI) is also expecting money to start flowing into the community in 2015.

The HDI and HCCC have negotiated about $20 million in economic development projects on Haudenosaunee treaty lands despite hurdles placed in their way by both the SNEBC and Ontario, says HDI director Hazel Hill.

"Ontario has been directing development components to deal with the band council since 2006. It wasn't until 2009 through the perseverance of HCCC, that Confederacy was placed on the Ontario list of first nations that needed to be consulted with and we have been able to negotiate with components since then," Hazel Hill said.

But, she said "there are still companies that won't meet with us. They are following the process of a simple phone call or letter thinking that is consultation and Ontario accepts that as consultation."

But she said, "we have to keep notifying Ontario Ministries that we require full engagement and free and prior consent."

She said "it's been a full uphill battle for the Confederacy and HDI.

"Samsung was very clear to us when they first engaged in the beginning that Ontario told them to deal with the band. So Ontario was deliberately directing proponents to deal with the band council."

She said, "but now on top of that, the band council is telling people not to deal with HDI, or, if they do, they are not going to deal with the band."

Hill said the attitudes need to change.

"That's childish and unfortunate because they are hurting our community and preventing the community from getting more benefits

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than what the band council is achieving."

She said "Those are the reasons for the wide variance between what the band council has been able to negotiate and what the HCCC has been able to secure for the community. But that's the challenge we have had to meet as Haudenosaunee people and we have been meeting that same challenge since 1924 (the overthrow of the HCCC and imposition of the elected band council system by Canada)."

She said the HCCC and HDI "consistently tell proponents that we understand they are obligated to deal with the band council but that has nothing to do with the Confederacy or the treaty rights of the Haudenosaunee.

"The engagement process with us, deals with Haudenosaunee treaty rights and ensures they are not ignored."

She said the band council "does not speak for the treaties or on behalf of the Haudenosaunee."

She said "if the band was smart they would acknowledge these proponents have to deal with the Confederacy. This is not a competition. It's about getting more for the community."

She says, she fears every dollar the band receives for consultation, is "knocking a dollar off whatever funding the minister of aboriginal affairs sends to them yearly. That's the concern we have with them negotiating and so are we any further ahead."

She said "it would make more sense for them to say yes, the HCCC deals with this, or support the HCCC so we had a unified voice. The Confederacy holds the treaty rights. That would force the components to meet with them, free the band to deal with their administrative needs but for them it's a competition," she said.

She said there has been success on both sides.

"Which would be great, if Six Nations benefits and AANAC doesn't cut back for every dollar the band council brings in through those projects."

She said Confederacy will be delegating a team of people to deal with a financial management plan. She said the team made up of community representation will make recommendations back to the chiefs and clanmothers and clans on how they are going to utilize those funds for the benefit of the people and to advance us as people."

She said HDI acts as a temporary administration office for the HCCC as it revitalizes itself.

"This is the first administration they have created since 1924. They used to look after the roads, education and all of that prior to the band system being put here."

The HCCC, she said through using its HDI department, "with a $90,000 investment has been able to implement the monitoring program we now have that has brought in well over $500,000 in contracts over the year. So you know it's a benefit and that's the amount you've built. We have put 30 people to work as archeological and environmental monitors. That demonstrates how that $90,000 has grown. People are working, HDI runs without dipping into any main dollars and we are working towards putting the $90,000 back."

She said the other $90,000 spent was spent on work at Kanonstaton. "Confederacy deemed it was a necessity and look how far we have come as a nation to take care of that property. Just because Ontario has its name on a certificate of possession doesn't mean we need to go to them every time we want to do something. As a nation we are re-building ourselves and not going to them with a hand out. The whole intent is to become a self sustaining nation."

Confederacy projects:

• First Solar Walpole: $90,000 one-time payment received (used to establish an archeology and environmental monitoring program)
• First Solar Belmont: $90,000 one-time payment, received (used for the restoration of Kanonhstaton)

After project completion the HCCC will receive:

• $11,000 annually from the $220,000 Silvercreek Solar project.
• Veresen wind farm near Guelph: $600,000 or $30,000 a year over 20 years and a one time payment of $30,000
• Union Gas: $425,000, payable over two years
• NextEra: $7.5 million over 20 years, $60,000 received in 2013 and $130,000 received in 2014, the money is being held in a band account to be transferred to a land acquisition fund.
• Samsung Wind Project: $4.5 million over 20 years or $225,000 a year after the projects completion of which $75,000 is slated for land acquis1tion and $150,000 to go into a fund.
• Capital Power: $3.2 million over 20 years; $160,000 received in 2013 with $160,000 expected annually once the project is completed.
• Samsung Solar Project: $4 million over 20 years with $50,000 of that to go into an land acquisition fund and $150,000 into the proposed community fund.

The HCCC will receive $200,000 a year from the project.

• Boralex/Port Ryerse Wind Power project: $120,000 in land lease revenues over 20 years or $6,000 a year.
• Prowind Canada/Gunn's Hill wind farm: $275,000 over 20 years or $13,750 a year.
• Brantgate Solar: eight megawatt project that would provide one-time payment of $125,000.

The HCCC and HDI are currently negotiating three more economic development projects.

Total HCCC/HDI project revenues over 20 years to date; $20,720,000 or roughly $1.02 million per year.

HCCC is involved in negotiations with several more entities including Grey highlands, Windworks and NRWC.

Band council projects:

• Penn Energy Renewables Ltd. - Brantgate Solar Farm: one-time payment of $125,000; anticipated cash flow: mid-2015.
• First Solar - Walpole Project: $400,000 in royalties; money already received. No information was available on where the funds are or plans for them.
• Samsung Renewable Energy - Grand Renewable Energy Park: an estimated investment revenue of $38,000,000 over 20 years for the wind component; $400,000 in post secondary scholarships ($20,000 per year) an estimated revenue of $27,000,000 over 20 years for the solar component, and $9 million in Ontario land lease revenue over 20 years; anticipated cash flow: end of 2015. No information on yearly amounts or where the funds will flow to was provided.
• Prowind Canada - Gunn's Hill Wind Farm: $3.5 million plus $80,000 in post-secondary funding; anticipated cash flow: end of 2015.

No information on yearly amounts or where the funds will flow to was provided.

• NextEra Energy - Summerhaven Project: $8.7 million plus 300,000 for scholarships. Cash flow began in fall, 2014.

No information on yearly amounts was provided or where the funds that came are.

• Capital Power - Port Dover/Nanticoke Wind Project: $6.9 million plus $300,000 in scholarships; cash flow began in fall, 2014.

No information was provided on yearly amounts or where the funds are.

• Boralex - Port Ryerse Wind Project: $150,000. Expected cash flow in spring, 2015.

No additonal information was provided.

Total band council project revenues over 20 years: $97,196,800, with another $1.08 million in post-secondary education funding.

Six Nations Band Council recently approved SNED to move forward with the SunEdison - Welland Ridge and Norfolk-Bloomberg projects, which are expected to bring in around $432,392 total over 20 years.

SNED is also in the midst of gathering opinions on a proposed beer brewery at the vacant Oneida Business Park that economic development says could bring in anywhere from $2 million to $4 million a year in profits.

A referendum on alcohol regulations meant to pave the way for the brewery is set for January 17.