Nunatsiavut says Muskrat Falls commitment not being honoured
Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe is disappointed a key commitment to mitigate methylmercury impacts from the Muskrat Falls project is not being kept, he stated in a news release Monday.
“When we met with Premier Dwight Ball last October we all agreed to resolve several key issues surrounding the pending flooding of the Muskrat Falls reservoir,” Lampe stated. “While some progress has been made on a number of fronts, including the establishment of an Independent Expert Advisory Committee, we have been informed that the major commitment to lower water levels in the reservoir to allow for further mitigation measures will not be honoured.”
The commitment was made to lower water last fall to natural levels in the spring to allow for further mitigation measures. Since then, the Nunatsiavut Government was advised that lowering water levels would pose significant potential safety risks within the reservoir, at the project site as well as downstream, Lampe stated.
The Nunatsiavut government was provided with engineering reports from SNC Lavalin in July, which outline the potential risks. They also received a letter from SNC to Nalcor dated Oct. 28, 2016 that also raised concerns with lowering water levels in the reservoir. Lampe said they weren’t told about the issue until the summer and should have been made aware of it all along.
Nalcor issued a news release on the same day, stating that when it lowered water levels from 22.5 metres to 20.3 metres in June, engineers expressed concerns about the erosion of some of the banks upstream of the facility, and the company decided not to lower the level further.
The Crown corporation stated it also undertook further mitigation measures over the summer and approximately 40 hectares of trees were cleared on Edwards Island and associated access roads and riverbanks.
Nalcor said it kept all parties, including the Nunatsiavut Government, aware during the process, and informed them of all decisions relating to water levels in the reservoir.