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N.S. premier to decide on Northern Pulp deadline by Friday

The premier of Nova Scotia says he will announce on Friday whether or not to extend the deadline for Northern Pulp to remove its wastewater pipe from Boat Harbour.

The Canadian Press reports that Premier Stephen McNeil says he needs more time to weigh the decision following the environment minister’s statement yesterday that the province still has insufficient information on the potential environmental effects of the pulp mill’s proposed replacement pipeline, which would deposit 85 million litres daily of treated effluent into Northumberland Strait.

McNeil will either enforce the Boat Harbour Act’s Jan. 31 deadline or allow Northern Pulp to continue using the lagoon for its untreated effluent while it completes the new environmental assessment required by the province.

Local environmental groups, fishers and First Nations are calling on the province to ensure the deadline is met, but without a deadline extension, the mill has said it will close, costing 300 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.