Controversial plans to dam the Romaine River on Quebec's North Shore got a conditional green light from the province's environmental assessment board Thursday, and at least one environmental group is angry about it.

The $6.5-billion hydroelectric project near Havre-Saint-Pierre is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs if it goes ahead.

The assessment board, known as BAPE (Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement ), said some changes need to be made to limit effects on the environment, as it submitted its report to the provincial Environment Ministry.

But generally the report says the project meets the objectives of Quebec's energy strategy, which is to reinforce the province's energy supply and to serve as a tool for economic development.

The report recommends measures to limit harm to wildlife in the area. But it says there are no satisfactory alternatives to the project.

"It is a very sad day for Quebec," said Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny, executive director of the Rivers Foundation, which has been leading a fight against the Romaine project.

Saint-Cerny said the foundation had proposed wind power and energy efficiency projects that would cost less than the hydroelectric dam and reduce harm to the environment.

She said those plans would have created more jobs, and in a shorter time frame. "They didn't want to look at it. They didn't investigate it, and that is almost criminal under the circumstances," she said.

Saint-Cerny said the group will continue its fight against the plan.

The president of the council of elected officials in the region, Georges-Henri Gagné, said the plan is a necessary economic boost for the North Shore and the rest of the province.

Officials at the provincial Environment Ministry are studying the BAPE report before the government gives the project final approval.