The Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans encourages Islanders to voice their concerns about the Northern Pulp waste treatment proposal in Pictou County..
Minister Dominic Leblanc says fishers, industry stakeholders, and the public will definitely have a voice in the matter which sees the Pictou pulp mill planning to pump effluent into the Northumberland Strait after it’s treated in a new facility on company property adjacent to the mill.
Northern Pulp Ltd. must replace its current treatment system which has been pumping effluent into nearby Boat Harbour on the Pictou Landing First Nation for decades.
But that agreement comes to an end in 2020, when it’s expected the clean up of Boat Harbour will cost the Nova Scotia government close to $135 million to remove about 350 thousand cubic metres of contaminated material and return Boat Harbour to its original state.
Minister Leblanc says he’s heard concerns about the new treatment plans from colleagues in both Nova Scotia and PEI, along with Premier MacLauchlan, fishers and individuals.
He says federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will be working with the government of Nova Scotia to ensure the environmental assessment it conducts will be robust, transparaent, and takes advantage of the best possible science.
Leblanc commits to doing whatever he can to ensure government never authorizes something that would have a negative impact on the fishery in PEI and Nova Scotia.