Agony prolonged
Without question, any judgment on whether to approve Northern Pulp's proposed effluent treatment plant must be based on the best available science. That's true, regardless of the stakes.
So Nova Scotia Environment Minister Gordon Wilson — pointing to as-yet unanswered questions concerning fish and fish habitat safety, air contamination, potential pipeline leaks and other issues — prudently told the company on Tuesday that even more information would be required on those concerns before he could make such a critical decision.
Critics accused the government of putting outrageous hurdles in front of a company vital to the economy, one linked to more than 3,000 direct and indirect forestry jobs in this province.
But forestry is not the only stakeholder at the table. The environmental concerns Wilson listed — which Northern Pulp's submitted evidence apparently did not fully address — were far from trivial.
“I need more science-based information before me to properly assess the potential risks to air, water, fish and human health,” he said.
The minister made the right move, for the right reasons.
That said, Wilson's decision now further magnifies the one question that's been looming for years over the future of the kraft paper mill outside Pictou — will the government of Nova Scotia keep its word and close the current Boat Harbour treatment facility at the end of January, 2020?
In 2015, the province promised — through legislation — the people of Pictou Landing First Nation that the facility that's polluted their lagoon for half a century would close on Jan. 31, 2020.
Delays in having a replacement plant approved and built, however, have made it clear, for several years, that Northern Pulp would not have an alternative effluent treatment facility ready in time.
Wilson's latest requirement, that Northern Pulp submit a new environmental assessment report (which alone could take two years to complete), means it could be 2024 before such a new effluent treatment plant, if approved, might be built.
The company made its position clear Tuesday. Without a Boat Harbour extension, the future of the plant and province's forestry sector was “in jeopardy,” said a Northern Pulp spokesman.
Meanwhile, PLFN Chief Andrea Paul was telling reporters Boat Harbour would close on schedule, period — no extensions.
The ball's firmly in Premier Stephen McNeil's court now.
Tuesday's events ratcheted up the already tremendous pressure on McNeil to make one of two unpalatable decisions: Break his government's promise to Pictou Landing, or be prepared to financially support Northern Pulp, and affected forestry workers, to try to convince the mill not to simply close shop. And that's assuming an environmentally acceptable treatment solution can be found.
We'd like to hope that Northern Pulp will commit to continuing to operate in this province while being good environmental stewards, regardless of what happens next.
McNeil must somehow try to reach a decision that promotes the greater good. It's an unenviable position.