COMMENT: Saying no to Northern Pulp

The federal government has clearly backed the province into a corner over the Northern Pulp effluent treatment plan.

Environment Minister Gordon Wilson now has no option other than to deny the permit for the new plan.

The federal government put an end to any hope Northern Pulp might have had of getting its new treatment plan approved when five departments made submissions as part of the provincial environmental assessment of the plan. All five cited deficiencies in the proposed plan.

The five departments which intervened include those who will be required to make any decisions about the plan at the federal level. So even if Wilson defies the evidence presented by the Feds, there appears no way any federal permits will be issued, based on the submissions.

Among the departments filing submissions was Environment Canada, which declared that it found the method by which background water samples were collected for the Northern Pulp proposal were “not appropriate for far field modelling in Northumberland Straight”.it suggested there was still a high level of uncertainty regarding the fate of effluent particles and their impact on the environment.

In their brief, Fisheries Canada suggested there was insufficient information in the proposal to determine potential effects on marine life such as lobster, crab, and herring. As well it says some of the data included in the submission was “erroneous”.

Health Canada also said it did not have adequate information to assess the risks to human health from the Northern Pulp proposal.

The other two departments filing submissions were Public Works and Transportation which both found the proposal cumbersome and incomplete.

The Province's decision on the Northern Pulp proposal must be made by Dec. 17, but with reviews like these, it is clear no permits can be issued and the plan must be denied. By law, the company's current effluent treatment plant at Boat Harbour must be closed by the end of January. That gives Northern Pulp just six weeks to come up with a new plan to replace one they've been working five years on preparing.

Frank Likely is a retired Anglican minister who lives in Springhill.