After shelving the project more than 20 years ago, industry is once again looking at hydro development on the Slave River on the N.W.T.- Alberta border.

Recently officials from Trans Canada Corporation, North America's largest natural gas company, met with Alberta government officials to discuss a run-of-the-river dam on the Slave.

Trans Canada is best known as a pipeline company, but has been expanding into hydro electricity and nuclear power, primarily in Ontario, Quebec, northeastern United States and Alberta since the early 1990s.

The potential of hydro generation on the Slave at Fort Smith is vast: over 30,000 cubic metres of water pours through this northern waterway every second. Trans Canada wants to transform that water power into electricity to meet the ever-increasing demands of the oil sands and Fort McMurray.

Trans Canada is considering a large-scale hydro development on the Alberta portion of the river upstream from Fort Smith, with a maximum capacity of 1,800 megawatts. That would make it the largest hydro generation source in Alberta.

Erin Gregg of Alberta's Department of the Environment says once Trans Canada Corporation files a formal application, the project will be assessed for its environmental, social and economic impacts.

She says the public will also be consulted.

Of course there are nearby First Nations so we absolutely will consult with them," she says.

Engineers first saw the potential of hydro power on the Slave in the early part of the 20th century, but the last serious proposal to build a dam was shelved in the mid 1980s for economic reasons.

But a lot has changed since then: Smith Landing First Nations have settled a claim and have reserve land along the Slave River, and a trans-boundary water agreement was signed between Alberta and the Northwest Territories in 1997.

That agreement requires companies to consult with residents in the Northwest Territories.

The dam and ensuing development would be a boost for the Fort Smith economy, and likely necessitate a road link to the south, something long sought after by residents.

But concerns remain, especially environmental ones: the Slave rapids are home to the northernmost breeding ground of white pelicans, and in nearby Wood Buffalo National Park the endangered whooping crane raises its young.

"As an aboriginal person with any kind of dam, whether it's run of the river or not, we have to look at it closely and decide what effects it will have on us," says Ken Hudson, president of the Fort Smith Metis Council.

Local leaders only found out about the project late last week.