Ocean Choice unveils revised plan for Long Pond Harbour development
Company says feedback from residents prompted design changes
It will cost Ocean Choice International (OCI) an extra $2 million to change the design of the cold storage facility and offloading pier it proposes to build in Long Pond Harbour, Conception Bay South.
The company unveiled the revised plan Thursday, in a virtual news conference with media.
Company president Blaine Sullivan said the adjusted plan moves the development “significantly to the southwest corner of the harbour towards Terminal Road … creating a more open harbour to the east of the property.”
In its revised plan, the company has also decided to go with a 90-metre-long finger pier, allowing space for two vessels to tie up. The original plan called for a marginal wharf.
The cost of the project, which encompasses a 1.7 hectare site, is now estimated at between $15 million and $20 million.
Sullivan said while the revision comes with additional costs, the company recognized the concerns and feedback provided by local residents over the past year and wanted to address some of those concerns.
The company’s plans for Long Pond Harbour have been a contentious issue since the original application was submitted to the Town of Conception Bay South (C.B.S.) and other agencies for approval.
Locals expressed concern about impact to local marine life and shorebirds and the impact on local residents due to noise from the industrial site, and the potential for increased flood risk with part of the harbour being filled in to create the waterfront property for OCI. They were also worried
the build would limit access to the harbour for recreational and commercial boats because the entrance to the harbour would be narrowed.
Sullivan noted the company’s original plan, approved under Canada’s Navigable Waters Act , specified a 30-metre channel.
The revised plan will allow for a 70-metre entrance to Long Pond Harbour.
Sullivan said the company hopes the changes it has made to the plan will resolve most of those concerns.
“Over the past several months we have been working with our external consultants and experts to adapt our plan to address the feedback we have heard while also ensuring the project remains economically viable.
“While our updated plan requires significant additional investment, adjusting the plan to better balance the commercial and recreational needs of the harbour is the right thing to do.”
The company’s need for more cold storage space was prompted by an acquisition it made last year.
In 2020 the company added a new trawler, the MV Calvert, to its offshore fleet.
According to OCI, the company’s cold storage needs have grown by 30 per cent in the past year with the addition of that vessel, and its current cold storage facility at South Dildo is at capacity, and that harbour is not suitable for accommodating more than one vessel at a time.
The provincial government, through its environmental assessment process, gave the project the green light in 2018.
According to Sullivan, the provincial government has already determined that a new environmental assessment is
not required for the revised plan. The company continues to work with provincial and federal regulatory bodies, like Transport Canada for authorization under the Navigable Waters Protection Act, to obtain other approvals necessary to move ahead with the project.
If the project gets final approvals, construction will proceed in two phases, said Sullivan.
The first phase — infilling the harbour to create the land, and construction of the pier — will take about eight months to finish.
Construction of the cold storage building and will take another year after that, he said.
“But of course we can’t start anything until all final approvals are in place.”
Those final approvals include a permit from the province to alter a body of water, and review of the project by Transport Canada to determine whether the revised plan still meets requirements under Canada’s Navigable Waters Protection Act.
From the perspective of the Town of Conception Bay South, however, they support the revised plan.
Deputy Mayor Rex Hillier said, “The revised proposal appears to address the concerns raised by council on behalf of concerned citizens.”
Hillier said the new plan “strikes a more favourable balance that considers the needs of residents and recreational users.”
He noted, however, a decision on a permit cannot be made until the completion of a Land Use Assessment report, which is nearly complete.
This report will address residents’ concerns about potential ice build-up and flooding.
As well, he said, a recent decision by the Easter Regional Municipal Appeals Board creates uncertainty about whether the town can even regulate and issue permits for certain types of developments in Long Pond.
The town has requested the provincial government to amend the town’s municipal planning order to give it jurisdiction over developments like the one proposed by OCI.
A decision on that request is expected in the next several weeks, said Hillier.
The deputy mayor added the OCI project, if it goes ahead, will be an economic “shot in the arm” for the port and the town, providing additional tax revenue for Conception Bay South, jobs during the construction phase and up to 30 full-time permanent jobs once the cold storage facility is in operation.