Province of Nova Scotia determines that Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent treatment facility cannot be approved at this time.
The Province of Nova Scotia has determined that Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent treatment facility cannot be approved at this time. There is insufficient information that would allow a proper consideration of the potential environmental impacts associated with the project.
This was the only responsible path forward.
Our government has been engaged at the federal level in providing expert advice to support the province’s assessment of the proposed effluent treatment facility.
I have been engaged on this file nearly every day since November of 2017 and have raised the concerns I have heard locally with both the various federal departments and Ministers whose jurisdiction could be triggered by the project proposal.
The relevant departments include the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Public Procurement and Services Canada, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Health.
Each of these federal departments have conducted a detailed review of the proposal and provided feedback on the proponent’s Environmental Assessment Registration Document.
Although each department has specific feedback on various aspects of the file, the general theme behind each response was that the proposal did not include adequate information to responsibly assess the potential impact of the project.
In the interest of transparency, the below link includes copies of the response from each of the federal departments (as well as the provincial and municipal submissions) outlining their concerns with the proposal and, where applicable, the regulatory requirements that arise outside of the environmental assessment process that would nevertheless be required.
The proposed project as described in the EA Registration Document cannot go forward until the important information gaps are filled, and the potential social, environmental, and health impacts are fully understood with continued oversight and technical support by both federal and provincial government departments.