Environmental Studies Faculty and Staff Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2011

Keywords

Cascadia, Cross-border region, US-Canada border, Cross-border integration

Abstract

Cascadia has been promoted as the premier cross-border region (CBR) along the western US-Canada border. However, most studies of this CBR have a strong normative inflection that assumes a great desire by the actors to emancipate themselves from dominance by the nation-state. Unlike as in other regions of the world such as Europe, little micro-level empirical investigation has been done of this hypothesis. This study seeks to address that issue by focusing on a proposed power plant in the heart of Cascadia which was to integrate resources and services between the border towns of Sumas, Washington and Abbotsford, British Columbia which lie at the western end of the enclosed Fraser Lowland. After an initial agreement between the towns collapsed based mainly on grassroots opposition concerned over impacts on the shared air shed, the two cities found themselves at loggerheads ever more willing to appeal to more distant political levels to support their case. This eventually resulted in a move by the Canadian National Energy Board to favour Canadian environmental interests over US economic ones, an apparent move to reaffirm the border as a shield. The paper explores how the micro-scale relationship that emerges from this dispute fits into the emerging discussion on CBRs and more importantly what this failed attempt at cross-border integration in the Fraser Lowland tells us about Cascadia as whole.

Publication Title

The University of the Fraser Valley Research Review

Volume

3

Issue

3

First Page

57

Last Page

80

Required Publisher's Statement

© University of the Fraser Valley, 2008-13. Commercial use of any portion of this electronic journal is prohibited.

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Borderlands--Washington (State)--Sumas; Borderlands--British Columbia--Abbotsford; Gas-turbine power-plants--Washington (State)--Sumas; Gas-turbine power-plants--Environmental aspects--British Columbia--Abbotsford; Electric utilities--Economic aspects--Washington (State)--Sumas; Environmental policy--Canada

Subjects - Names (LCNAF)

Sumas Energy 2, Inc.

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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