Assessment on pause

NEW GLASGOW — Northern Pulp paused its participation in the environmental assessment process for its proposed effluent treatment plant on Tuesday and filed an appeal of a ministerial order regarding its idling of the kraft pulp mill.

“We remain concerned that the environmental assessment, based on the current terms of reference, is ambiguous and would not result in a clear outcome. Instead, it could lead to more uncertainty, division and disappointment among stakeholders,” said Graham Kissack, vice-president environment, health, safety and communications for Northern Pulp's parent company, Paper Excellence Canada, in a news release.

“Pausing the assessment will provide time for us to further engage the community in discussion about the mill and its future, how we can best coexist, and an appropriate environmental assessment process for the environmental improvement being proposed."

The company has maintained that the new environmental approval process for its controversial effluent treatment plant does not lay out clear targets for it to meet with regard to effluent quality.

As well, it has claimed that the order made by Environment Minister Gordon Wilson on May 14 that forbade it from running even clean water through the Boat Harbour Effluent Treatment Facility, placed demands on the quality of effluent entering the Northumberland Strait from the facility and laid out monitoring and cleanup requirements for the mill during its idle, was an overstep.

In the appeal filed Monday morning at Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax, Northern Pulp states that it was “constructively evicted” from the Boat Harbour Effluent Treatment Facility at the end of January when it had to shut down because of a legislated deadline put in place by the provincial government.