Reopened Northern Pulp Mill Would Release Treated Wastewater Into Pictou Harbour
PICTOU, N.S. — The company in charge of the shuttered Northern Pulp mill in Pictou has released new details about how it plans to reopen the mill.
Paper Excellence Canada was forced to close the mill in January 2020 after failing to meet a deadline set by the provincial government to stop pumping mill byproducts into Boat Harbour. The company later put the corporation that runs the mill into voluntary creditor protection, in June of 2020.
Now, Paper Excellence plans to spend $350-million on upgrades company reps say will reduce a host of environmental impacts stemming from mill operations.
At a July 15 press conference, Graham Kissack, a vice president at Paper Excellence, outlined the plan.
He said upgrades and changes to how the mill deals with its byproducts, both in the air and water, will lead to less odour in surrounding communities, a significant reduction in “visible plumes” above the mill, less water consumption, and safer wastewater.
The company also plans to upgrade the physical appearance of the mill with a paint job and by cleaning up unused equipment on the mill site. It will also create a public dashboard on its website to display live environmental data.
Wastewater Destined For Pictou Harbour
Kissack said new primary and tertiary water treatment systems at the mill will remove solids, organics, and colour from the mill’s wastewater but that the company still intends to release treated wastewater into Pictou Harbour.
RELATED: N.S. Will Spend $19-Million To Clean Up Boat Harbour After Northern Pulp Misses Deadlines
Paper Excellence will register with a third-party audit system to document its environmental impacts. It will also hire an independent environmental consultant who, among other things, will decide the best location to release wastewater.
Kissack said he didn’t want to “presuppose” the findings of that consultant but that he believes “there really isn’t going to be a … material impact on Pictou Harbour from an environmental perspective.”
‘We need to do better’
Kissack said Paper Excellence’s plan is “the start of the start” of an environmental assessment application the company intends to take on in full consultation with the community.
“We’ve heard pretty clearly from the community that we weren’t doing a good enough job, that the relationships weren’t strong, there was lack of trust, there was lack of respect in the leadership, and really a lack of transparency in what we were doing,” Kissack said.
Kissack said Paper Excellence is also committed to repairing its relationship with First Nations communities, especially the Pictou Landing First Nation.
“Historically we’ve let those groups down,” he said. “We need to do better. We need to reconcile these past differences and we need to find a common path forward.”
He added that the company isn’t “exactly sure” what that path forward looks or how long it’s going to take, but that “we’re absolutely dedicated to getting there.”
PLFN Chief: ‘It is not because they are doing any of this in good faith’
Pictou Landing First Nation Chief Andrea Paul appears unconvinced.
In an email statement, Paul said Northern Pulp representatives have sent her updates on the project but that she hasn’t met with them “in quite some time.”
Paul explained that consultation with Mi’kmaq communities is a legal requirement whenever governments are making decisions that have the potential to adversely impact their asserted and treaty rights.
“The proponent [Northern pulp] has to consult with PLFN. It is not because they are doing any of this in good faith,” she said.
Paul added that she will meet with her council and legal advisors next week to go over Northern Pulp’s plans in more detail.
Construction could begin in 2023
Paper Excellence is now waiting for the provincial government to decide exactly which type of environmental assessment it needs to complete before it can move the project forward.
However, the company’s preliminary timeline has construction scheduled to take place between 2023 and 2025.
Kissack said that with the project still in its very early days the company does not know exactly how it will finance the $350-million bill.