Boat Harbour update

Studies underway as part of remediation project

The people tasked with cleaning up Boat Harbour want to know exactly what’s in it before they start dismantling it.

Ken Swain, project leader for the cleanup, said experts are currently in the process of collecting data on every aspect of the makeup of Boat Harbour so when cleanup takes place there will be no surprises.

“We understand what is in Boat Harbour and to compare it to other big remediation projects like the Sydney Tar Ponds, it is about half as much contamination as Sydney Tar Ponds but spread over an area twice as big.”

He said a number of site assessment studies are now underway, including looking at how the area has been impacted during the last 50 years, as well as doing baseline studies to understand the current conditions. Studies looking at effects on the environment and health are also in process.

“There has been the impact from the pulp mill and Canso Chemicals, but there are airborne emissions as well from the Trenton (generating) plant and other industries that may have all united. We want to make sure we completely understand and characterize what is in Boat Harbour.”

An impermeable barrier has been built around a cove with about 30 acres of surface area in Boat Harbour and testing is expected to begin later this year to determine the best way to remove, treat and dispose of pollutants.

“Beginning in early 2018, we will do pilot scale work there and test various ways to remove it from the harbour, treat it and dispose of it,” he said.

Swain said more public consultation will take place in 2018 after an environmental assessment is complete and a permit is sought for the pilot scale work.

GHD, a general services consulting engineering firm with a location in Dartmouth, had been awarded the $6.7 million contract to design a plan to return Boat Harbour to its natural state.

Located adjacent to Pictou Landing First Nation, the area was once a tidal estuary, but beginning in the 1960s was polluted when the government gave access to the site as a place for companies such as Abercrombie Point’s Scott Paper (now operating as Northern Pulp) to dump effluent. Canso Chemicals, located near the pulp mill, has also been accused of contributing to the contamination.

“We will be in a better position to know the true cost of the estimate in early 2019 when the project design is completed,” he said.

Four Nova Scotia universities are providing technical advice for the project, including St. FX University, Cape Breton University, Dalhousie University and Acadia University.

The steps for remediation began in earnest after a leak was discovered in the pipeline carrying wastewater from Northern Pulp to the treatment facility at Boat Harbour in June 2014. Subsequent meetings between the provincial government and Pictou Landing First Nation led to the government promising to establish a timeline for the closure of the treatment facility. As a result, legislation was introduced in April that will see the Boat Harbour Treatment facility close by Jan. 31, 2020.