Judge orders full Grieg Aquaculture review

The provincial government has been ordered by a Newfoundland Supreme Court justice to get a full environmental impact statement from Grieg Aquaculture for its Placentia Bay salmon operation.

The decision from Justice Gillian Butler comes as a rebuke to then-environment minister Perry Trimper, who gave Grieg the green light to begin its project in 2016.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation went to court seeking a judicial review of the decision, and won.

“The minister lacked jurisdiction to release the project,” Butler wrote in her decision. “The only possible conclusion he could reach from the Record was that the Project had both ‘significant public concerns’ and the potential for ‘significant negative environmental effects.’”

An environmental impact statement is the most rigorous form of environmental assessment, requiring in-depth analysis of any possible effects of the project.

The Grieg project, once registered with the provincial government for environmental assessment, received more than 200 negative public comments. It would have been the largest expansion of salmon aquaculture in eastern Canada, and the first commercial use of a European-strain triploid salmon in eastern Canada.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation went to court asking for a judicial review of Trimper’s 2016 decision, and Neville Crabbe, communications director with the federation, said they’re happy with the outcome.

“We’re pleased beyond belief that she has decided in our favour,” Crabbe said.

“Our goal was always to have the facts fully investigated, discovered and presented to the public so that a transparent decision that considers all the risks of this project could be made by government.”

The Telegram requested comment from the provincial government, but did not receive a response by deadline.