The proposed Lower Churchill hydroelectric project in Labrador is facing yet another hurdle as Innu communities in Quebec claim aboriginal rights over land in the Churchill River watershed.

Their lawyers filed documents with Newfoundland and Labrador's Public Utilities Board in mid-December, asking it to reject a water management application submitted by Nalcor, the province's energy corporation.

The Quebec Innu claim the Churchill River is a traditional transportation and communication route. The documents say they are worried about adverse effects the development may have on fish and wildlife the Innu trap and hunt.

The application also says the Innu are worried about the effects on transportation and navigation routes and on their cultural heritage.

Lawyer David Schulze represents the Conseil des Innus de Ekuanitshit, a group that consists of residents from two Innu communities on Quebec's Lower North Shore.

Schulze said that the Lower Churchill project won't go ahead without addressing the Innu claims.

"They can't legally run the project without a permit concerning their water supply," he told CBC News.

Innu say claim ignored

Schulze said the Quebec Innu believe the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has ignored their traditional connection to Labrador, even though the claims are recognized by the federal government and the environmental assessment panel that's studying the Lower Churchill development.

"We're not saying there should be no permit ever, we're just saying there should be no permit until they've sat down and discussed the implications of the project with all the communities that are affected."

Schulze also said that the Newfoundland and Labrador government has less of a claim to the Churchill River than the Quebec Innu.

"They live a lot closer to it than the vast majority of population of Newfoundland, and their ancestors (Quebec Innu) have always used that territory, and I think the era of doing these projects without involving aboriginal populations, like Upper Churchill, I think that era is over."

The Public Utilities Board is still considering the Innu challenge.

Officials at Nalcor Energy weren't available for comment.

The Lower Churchill hydro project would cost almost $4 billion to develop.