Tag Archives: Environment Minister Margaret Miller
Fishers, First Nations fight Northern Pulp mill’s proposed effluent pipeline into ocean
On a bitterly cold March day, Greg Egilsson drives his pick-up down Fisherman Road to Caribou Harbour, parks on the deserted fishing wharf and gazes out at the blindingly white pack ice covering the harbour that provides him and many other fishing families their livelihoods. “Seventy boats come out of this harbour,” he says. “There’s another 10 or 12 out of Pictou Harbour, some more out of Sinclair’s Wharf and another 20 or more out of Tony River, west of here.” >click to read<11:18
Bay of Fundy Fishermen trying to overturn approval of tidal turbine
A fishermen’s group has asked the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to set aside provincial approval of a massive tidal turbine in the Bay of Fundy, saying the decision was based on poor scientific data. The 1,000-tonne underwater generator was installed on the floor of the Minas Passage in November, but the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association has said the test project should be put on hold to ensure the bay’s productive ecosystem is not harmed. David Coles, the lawyer representing the 175-member association, told the court Wednesday that Environment Minister Margaret Miller overstepped her authority last June because the company behind the project — Cape Sharp Tidal — did not submit enough scientific data about the state of the bay prior to installation. “The minister was required to consider certain things, and they’re just not in the record,” Coles told Justice Heather Robertson. Read the story here 14:07
Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association gets another stab at Minas Passage tidal turbine
After an application it filed last July, the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association is getting another day in court. Justice M. Heather Robertson is presiding over a hearing on Feb. 1-2 in Halifax that will review the environment minister’s decision to authorize an Environmental Effects Monitoring Program. The EEMP was the final requirement the proponents needed before they could deploy an in-stream tidal energy device, or turbine, in the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Passage. According to documents filed with the court, BoFiFA claims that environment minister Margaret Miller erred in the law and acted unreasonably in her decision on June 20, 2016 by proceeding contrary to the requirements of the original EA in 2009. Named in the application are the Minister of Environment, the Attorney General, the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy Ltd. (FORCE) and Cape Sharp Tidal Ventures Ltd. Link 11:14
Meanwhile in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia government approves “experimental” turbine deployment
The Nova Scotia government has approved a plan to deploy two experimental tidal turbines in the Minas Passage for research purposes. The government announced the approval of the proposed monitoring program for the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) and Cape Sharp Tidal Venture in a news release on Monday. The turbines, which are each 16 metres in diameter and weigh 1,000 tonnes, were originally scheduled for deployment last year, but were delayed by weather. Fishermen and environmental groups have raised concerns that the giant turbines would have a negative impact on marine life in the Bay of Fundy. Environment Minister Margaret Miller said in a news release that the full environmental impact of the project will not be known until the turbines are in the water. Read the rest here 11:34
