Fishermen lose court bid to stop testing of huge tidal turbines

HALIFAX — Fishermen opposed to the testing of a massive tidalpower turbine in the Bay of Fundy have failed to persuade a court that Nova Scotia’s environment minister was wrong to approve the project they say is based on badly flawed scientific data.

The 175-member Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association had asked a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge to quash Margaret Miller’s decision of June 20, arguing it was unreasonable.

But Justice Heather Robertson, in a decision released Monday, concluded that “extraordinary efforts” were made to evaluate the risks associated with the pioneering project.

“The project has not been undertaken lightly and follows rigorous ongoing evaluation. The minister of the environment is entitled to the deference of this court, in making these very reasonable decisions.”

David Coles, the lawyer representing the association, argued the project’s main proponent, Cape Sharp Tidal, had drafted an environmental effects monitoring program without first compiling “relevant baseline data” about the bay’s ecosystem, as spelled out in the province’s environmental regulations.

As well, the association stressed that a review by the federal Fisheries Department pointed out “knowledge gaps” in the baseline information provided to the provincial government.

However, Robertson found that even though the Fisheries Department was aware of the data gaps, it decided the project could proceed because a so-called adaptive management approach could be counted on to fill those gaps.

“With respect to the applicant’s first argument of lack of relevant baseline data, it is clear to me that environmental baseline information was available and was presented by the proponents of the undertaking,” Robertson’s decision said.