All risk, no reward
P.E.I. groups concerned over unknown effect of pumping effluent directly into Northumberland Strait
Pumping effluent directly into the Northumberland Strait would see P.E.I. taking on all the risks without any of the economic reward, says the author of a book about a Pictou County mill’s controversial history.
Joan Baxter, author of “The Mill: Fifty Years of Pump and Protest,” was one of the guest speakers during a public meeting at Charlottetown’s Farm Centre on Sunday to discuss Northern Pulp’s proposal to discharge effluent into the strait.
Baxter said P.E.I. already gets “absolutely zero” benefit from the mill, and pumping effluent directly onto fishing grounds could have “major ramifications for P.E.I. fishermen.”
“You’ve got all the risk, but you don’t get any of the benefits of that mill,” Baxter said during an interview with The Guardian. “It employs people in Nova Scotia, it doesn’t employ people here.”
Baxter praised P.E.I.’s government for asking Nova Scotia and the federal government for a more intensive environmental assessment on the plan.
“There’s just too much at stake here,” she said.
More than 30 people attended the meeting to oppose the proposed effluent treatment and disposal system, which organizers said would see an estimated 70 to 90 million litres of effluent pumped daily into the strait.
The meeting also included guest speaker Melanie Giffin, a marine biologist and program planner with the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA).
All speakers noted they did not want to see mill workers lose their jobs.
“We’re not trying to pit the fishery against the mill, we’re just wanting to make sure that both can survive,” said Giffin, noting that PEIFA is part of a working group trying to find a solution. “If (Northern Pulp) can come up with some other way to treat that effluent that didn’t result in it being released into the strait, we’re all for that.”
Giffin said effluent is currently directed into the nearby Boat Harbour where it is treated for up to 30 days before it is released into the strait.
The proposal to pump effluent directly onto fishing grounds has fishermen concerned over how it could affect lobster larvae as well as spawning areas for other fisheries.
Giffin said a major concern is the amount of unknown effects and that Northern Pulp has approached the project from an “engineering perspective” rather than a biological one.
“The fishermen really feel like they’re taking on all the risk,” said Giffin. “There’s no risk to the mill, it’s the fishermen’s livelihoods that are on the line.”
Baxter noted the issue of the effluent dates back to an indemnity agreement made between the Nova Scotia government and the mill’s original owners in 1970. The agreement, which was renewed in the 1990s, saw the province take responsibility for the mill’s effluent.
Baxter said this likely means the province will have to pay for the new treatment facility.
She believes the only solution is to create a closed loop system for the mill.
“The mill says it’s not possible, I think anything is possible with the right amount of money,” she said. “If they really want to continue operating that mill, they should conform with the environmental needs of the people.”
Northern Pulp has yet to submit its full proposal to the Nova Scotia government.