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Northern Pulp must change pipeline route, says province

April 25, 2019 – Northern Pulp must find a new route for the pipeline in its proposed effluent treatment plant in order to gain provincial approval, according to the terms of reference issued by the Nova Scotia Environment Department this week. 

The CBC reports that on Tuesday, former Environment Minister Margaret Miller – who Premier Stephen McNeil replaced with Gordon Wilson on Apr. 24 – released further details on what is required of the mill after ruling on Mar. 29 that Northern Pulp’s environmental assessment application for the proposed pipeline did not include enough information for the province to make a decision. 

The pipeline will no longer be able to run next to Highway 106 in Pictou County.

Miller also said this week that the mill must submit the full physical and chemical properties of both the untreated wastewater and treated effluent, as well as studies on the marine environment near the pipeline terminus.

The terms of reference also ask for Northern Pulp to elaborate on peak effluent temperatures, design of the spill basin and additional data on effluent flow. 

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Kathy Cloutier, spokesperson for Northern Pulp’s parent company Paper Excellence Canada, told the CBC that the mill will review the terms of reference over the next week. The province has given the mill a year to provide the additional information.

However, that deadline is after January 2020 – when the province has ordered Northern Pulp to remove its current pipeline from the nearby Pictou Landing First Nations reserve and Boat Harbour. Northern Pulp has requested an extension on that deadline, saying that without it, it will be forced to close. Premier McNeil has said the deadline will not change.

Northern Pulp’s proposed replacement plan, which it submitted to the province on February 7, includes a new effluent treatment facility constructed on Northern Pulp property. A 15.5-kilometre water pipe would deliver treated effluent to Caribou Harbour, in the Northumberland Strait.

Read the full story here.