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Northern Pulp’s paper mill operations in Pictou County will shut down if the Boat Harbour deadline is not extended beyond Jan. 31, says a company executive.

“Northern Pulp Nova Scotia will be forced to notify its workforce and suppliers that if the government of Nova Scotia does not extend the Boat Harbour Act deadline for use of the Boat Harbour effluent treatment facility, the company will take the necessary steps to shut down the facility,” Brian Baarda, chief executive officer of Paper Excellence Canada, Northern Pulp Nova Scotia’s parent company, said in a statement Thursday.

“Without such decision from the government of Nova Scotia, our stakeholders need to be ready for the worst-case scenario, including the termination of more than 300 employees, and the cancellation of contracts with suppliers, contractors, and woodlot operators throughout Nova Scotia, which will have an impact on more than 11,000 jobs in Nova Scotia alone,” Baarda said in his statement.

Premier Stephen McNeil make his decision public Friday regarding a possible extension to the Boat Harbour Act.

“The regulator has given the company the opportunity to file an environmental assessment report, which could take up to two years,” McNeil said in a statement released Wednesday morning.

“Our government now faces a very difficult decision -- whether to give the company an extension to allow it to do the work necessary to prove it can operate in an environmentally sound manner, or let the Boat Harbour deadline stand, effectively shutting down the mill.”

McNeil said he understands how difficult this is for many Nova Scotians for many different reasons.

The regulator, Environment Minister Gordon Wilson, on Tuesday withheld approval of Northern Pulp’s focus report in support of its proposed effluent treatment facility that would discharge treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait.

Wilson said he concluded that more science-based evidence is needed to properly assess the potential risk to air, water, fish and human health.

Jan. 31 Boat Harbour shutdown looms

The existing government-owned Boat Harbour effluent treatment plant has been in operation since the mill opened in 1967 but it is legislated to close on Jan. 31, 2020, predicated on an agreement reached between the provincial Liberal government and Pictou Landing First Nation more than five years ago.

“We urge the Premier of Nova Scotia to extend the Boat Harbour Act deadline and ensure a continued future for a sustainable and prosperous forestry sector in the province,” Baarda said in his statement.

“We continue to believe that Pictou County deserves to have both a clean environment and a prosperous economy, and that Boat Harbour needs to be closed and remediated. An extension to the Boat Harbour Act deadline while a new world-class wastewater treatment facility at Northern Pulp is constructed is vital to achieving this. Once complete, the new treatment facility would allow operations in Boat Harbour to cease, enabling federal and provincial remediation of the former estuarine lagoon.”

The mill's focus report stated that effluent to be treated at the plant proposed for construction on mill property will be piped to an outfall four kilometres from shore at Caribou, achieving better dilution than is the case with the effluent that is currently discharged from the Boat Harbour facility. The 245-page focus report claimed that the 85 million litres of treated effluent being discharged daily into the Northumberland Strait would not harm marine species in the vicinity.

18 months to build new treatment system

The company has said in the past that it would take at least 18 months to build the new effluent treatment facility and 15-kilometre pipeline once it receives the government go-ahead.

Fishermen’s associations from all three Maritime provinces, Pictou Landing First Nation, tourism operators, cottagers, boaters and outdoor enthusiasts oppose the Northern Pulp plan to dump treated effluent in the Northumberland Strait.

Northern Pulp manufactures 280,000 tonnes of Kraft pulp annually, primarily for export to manufacture household products such as tissue, toilet paper, writing and copy paper. The mill is an important economic driver that generates more than $200 million annually into the Nova Scotia economy.

The Environment Department said it would post draft terms of reference for the requested environmental assessment report online by Jan. 10 and the public and government reviewers will have 30 days to comment. The mill has up to two years to submit its environmental assessment report.

Complete statement from Brian Baarda, chief executive officer of Paper Excellence Canada:

“Northern Pulp Nova Scotia will be forced to notify its workforce and suppliers that if the Government of Nova Scotia does not extend the Boat Harbour Act deadline for use of the Boat Harbour effluent treatment facility, the company will take the necessary steps to shut down the facility.

Without such decision from the Government of Nova Scotia, our stakeholders need to be ready for the worst-case scenario, including the termination of more than 300 employees, and the cancellation of contracts with suppliers, contractors, and woodlot operators throughout Nova Scotia, which will have an impact on more than 11,000 jobs in Nova Scotia alone.

We continue to believe that Pictou County deserves to have both a clean environment and a prosperous economy, and that Boat Harbour needs to be closed and remediated. An extension to the Boat Harbour Act deadline while a new world-class wastewater treatment facility at Northern Pulp is constructed is vital to achieving this. Once complete, the new treatment facility would allow operations in Boat Harbour to cease, enabling federal and provincial remediation of the former estuarine lagoon.

We urge the Premier of Nova Scotia to extend the Boat Harbour Act deadline and ensure a continued future for a sustainable and prosperous forestry sector in the province.”

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