Landslide near $13B Muskrat Falls project raises fresh ‘anguish’ downstream
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Roberta Frampton Benefiel lives downstream from the massive Muskrat Falls hydro project in Labrador. And, she’s among many in the area taking no comfort from official assurances that a recent landslide nearby poses no risk of a major dam failure.
Moving is not an option.
“I couldn’t afford to get out of here,” she said from her home in Terrington Basin not far down the Churchill River from the almost $13-billion development. The cabin she has worked on since 1992 is in a recognized flood zone.
“I’d just have to clean out the house and keep on trucking,” she said. “But for Mud Lake, that’s life and death.”