Tag Archives: Northern Pulp
Northern Pulp: Next step in possible restart expected to come today
On Thursday, Northern Pulp’s parent company, Paper Excellence, put out a news release stating that it intended to continue with the environmental assessment process with the hope of eventually restarting the mill. That will be unpopular with the broad coalition of fishermen, First Nations and concerned citizens who oppose the plan to pump treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait near Caribou. Those groups have warned repeatedly that the effluent could damage the Northumberland Strait ecosystem and harm the commercial fishery on which both aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in the area largely rely. >click to read< 07:52
Pulp mill shutdown not what P.E.I. fishermen were seeking
The president of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association says the industry really wasn’t looking to have Pictou County’s Northern Pulp shut down its pulp mill. Bobby Jenkins says industry wanted the pulp mill to come up with an alternate plan to the one that would pipe effluent into the Northumberland Strait. >click to read< 11:40
In Nova Scotia, extremes of elation and despair in wake of the Northern Pulp mill closure
There was despair and elation in northeastern Nova Scotia on Saturday,,, For Warren Francis, a lobster fisherman, and his sister, Chief Andrea Paul, this was a long anticipated moment., However, in nearby New Glasgow, Northern Pulp co-workers Kim MacLaughlin and Wanda Skinner say they are fearful for their families’ well-being. >click to read< 07:05
P.E.I. fishermen, Indigenous groups pleased with Northern Pulp decision
P.E.I. fisheries and Indigenous rights organizations, and the province say they are pleased the Nova Scotia government has rejected a plan by Pictou’s Northern Pulp plant to pipe treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait between Nova Scotia and P.E.I. Nova Scotia had until Tuesday to decide whether or not to approve Northern Pulp’s proposal for a new treatment facility that would pump up to 85 million litres of treated effluent daily into the strait. >click to read< 09:31
P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association hopes N.S. rejects Northern Pulp effluent plan
The federal government’s decision not to carry out an environmental assessment on the Northern Pulp mill is a “setback,” says the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. Now the final word on the mill’s future is in the hands of Nova Scotia Environment Minister Gordon Wilson. He’s scheduled to release his environmental assessment decision on the Pictou County pulp mill’s controversial plan for a new effluent treatment facility at 11 a.m. Tuesday. >click to read< 07:55
Nova Scotia communities await decision on contentious pulp mill pipeline
Allan MacCarthy, a fisherman based in Pictou County, said fishermen remain convinced the effluent would pose a threat to lobster, crab, herring and other species in the strait over time. His protests landed him in court last year when a temporary injunction was imposed ordering him to stop blocking survey activities by the company. “Until the minister announces it (the decision), there’s not much we can do. >click to read< 08:04
Looming Northern Pulp decision churns up worries on the water
“Of course I’m thinking about it,” said Anderson, not looking up from his stitching. “Everybody’s losing sleep.” Environment Minister Gordon Wilson has until Tuesday to decide whether to allow Northern Pulp to build a new effluent treatment facility that will pump up to 85 million litres of treated wastewater into the Northumberland Strait. The pipe runs by the Caribou wharf, home port to 68 fishing boats. >click to read< 07:16
Concerned groups offer assessments of Northern Pulp’s plan to pump effluent into strait
Groups that have voiced concerns about a Nova Scotia pulp mill’s plan to pump millions of litres of treated wastewater into the Northumberland Strait are to issue a response to that plan today. Northern Pulp submitted thousands of pages of documents,,, Several groups are scheduled to give their assessments of the focus report at a news conference in Pictou this morning, including the Town of Pictou, Pictou Landing First Nation, fishermen from across the Maritimes and the environmental group Friends of the Northumberland Strait, >click to read< 09:00
‘No pipe’ placards popping up on P.E.I. election signs
Some federal election signs around P.E.I. are carrying an extra message — candidates are adding a second, smaller sign printed with the words “No Pipe in the Strait.” The signs are from the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, and they oppose a proposal by the Northern Pulp mill in Nova Scotia across the Northumberland Strait from Prince Edward Island to extend a waste-water effluent pipe into the strait, part of its plan to improve its pollution control. Nova Scotia’s environment minister has to make a decision by mid-December. >click to read< 18:43
Northern Pulp focus report now available to public – Claims no impact on marine life
The long-awaited focus report filed by Northern Pulp states that the mill’s proposed effluent treatment facility would exceed stricter federal guidelines being developed for pulp and paper plants. The report also shows that treated effluent coming out of the proposed pipe near Caribou won’t be cleaner than what ultimately enters the Northumberland Strait now at Boat Harbour. The report’s contents and the more than 20 studies done by Northern Pulp to create it were made public by the Environment Department on Thursday. >click to read< 10:28
Brenda Sterling-Goodwin: Diluting waste in Northumberland Strait not the answer for Northern Pulp effluent
“The solution to pollution is dilution. It is very logical that if a chemical is bothering you, you should increase the flow,,, In many cases, people were probably taught that it is OK to pour your waste materials down the sink (and let dilution take care of any nasty effects). However, despite its frequent promotion, dilution is probably not the solution.,,, A pipe in the Northumberland Strait is not the answer. It may be one of the less costly solutions for waste disposal at Northern Pulp, but one must think of the environmental consequences. >click to read< 09:21
Northern Pulp opponents question how province can be ‘lender, regulator and judge and jury’
With the province’s two highest courts questioning Gordon Wilson’s ability to make an unbiased decision on Northern Pulp’s effluent treatment plant, the Department of Environment offered up a two-sentence written response on Thursday.,,, Meanwhile, those opposed to Northern Pulp’s controversial plan to pump effluent into the Northumberland Strait are planning further court action,,, “I would think there are lawyers looking at injunctions right now,” hinted Allan McCarthy, a Caribou fisherman and one of the leaders of the opposition to Northern Pulp’s proposal. >click to read< 09:29
Fishermen want to see studies from Northern Pulp
A fishermen’s working group, representing fishermen from Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick, is concerned that Northern Pulp (NPNS) has not replied to their written request to share completed reports and studies relating to the company’s proposed new effluent treatment facility. “We emailed Northern Pulp over a week ago, requesting that they send us all completed studies and reports within seven calendar days,” says Jamie Simpson, lawyer for the group, which is based in Pictou, N.S. “To date, we have not received a response.” >click to read< 13:56
Fishermen’s groups seek candidates’ stance on Nova Scotia pulp effluent
In a joint statement released Monday, the coalition, representing the Gulf Nova Scotia Fleet Planning Board, Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association, Maritime Fishermen’s Union and Pictou Landing First Nation, says it will be seeking the position of all local federal election candidates on Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent pipeline. The coalition maintains the pipe would, on a daily basis, release between 65 and 87 million litres of effluent into the Northumberland Strait, “one of our most important commercial fishing areas.”,,, It points out the area falls under the Canadian Fisheries Act and is the jurisdiction of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. >click to read< 12:49
#NOPIPE – Fishermen still determined. No pipe in the Strait
Lobster traps are out of the water now in Nova Scotia as fishermen along the Northumberland Strait wrap up a successful spring season. The wharves on the Nova Scotia side are quieter than they were a year ago when 200 fishing and pleasure boats and 3,500 people readied for the #NOPIPE Land and Sea Rally on July 6 in Pictou Town and Harbour. People and boats from Nova Scotia, P.E.I., New Brunswick and Pictou Landing First Nation gathered in strong and vocal opposition to Northern Pulp’s proposal to discharge 60-80 million litres of treated pulp effluent daily into the Northumberland Strait. >click to read< 18:58
OPINION: #NoPipe activists won’t pipe down
Lobster traps are out of the water now, as fishermen along the Northumberland Strait wrap up a successful season. The wharves are quieter than they were a year ago, when 200 fishing and pleasure boats and 3,500 people readied for the #NoPipe Land and Sea Rally on July 6 in Pictou Town and Harbour. From three provinces and Pictou Landing First Nation, opposition to Northern Pulp’s proposal to discharge 60-80 million litres of treated pulp effluent daily into the Northumberland Strait was visible and strong. >click to read< 08:48
Fishing groups say concerns validated by missing data in Northern Pulp assessment
A working group of Maritime fishermen says a number of concerns regarding Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent pipe have been validated in a report released by the province of Nova Scotia. The fishing groups from P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Pictou Landing First Nation are maintaining a stance of “no pipe” in the Northumberland Strait and “no extension” to the Boat Harbour closure date following the April 23 release of a focus report – terms of reference by the province of Nova Scotia. >click to read<
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
Environmental lawyer says correspondence inside Northern Pulp contradicts company claims to the public
Northern Pulp’s public statements about its new proposed effluent treatment plan appear to be at odds with statements made between the company’s technical manager, consultants and the province according to environmental lawyer, Jamie Simpson. “One of the key things that jumped out to me was the inconsistencies with what they’ve been saying publicly and specifically to fishermen in the three maritime provinces,” said Simpson who obtained thousands of internal correspondences through a freedom of information request. >click to read<18:16
P.E.I. fishermen exploring compensation if damage done to fisheries
The Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association is exploring ways members could be compensated if damage is done to local fisheries. The topic was on the agenda for the association’s annual general meeting Saturday. The group has been working with law students at the University of New Brunswick to research different compensation packages in the event of environmental damage. >click to read<
Feds to conduct environmental assessment of Boat Harbour cleanup
Nova Scotia’s biggest contaminated site will get a federal environmental assessment before the cleanup begins. The decision was based on submitted comments and the possibility that carrying out the project may cause adverse environmental effects, the federal government said in a news release late Friday night. Northern Pulp’s waste treatment plant at Boat Harbour is scheduled to close in January 2020, as laid out in provincial legislation passed by the Liberals in April 2015. The pulp mill has said it needs a one-year extension to get a replacement plant up and running because it cannot operate without a treatment facility. Premier Stephen McNeil has refused to extend the deadline of the closure. >click to read<14:42
N.S. group seeks data on effluent leak from Northern Pulp pipeline
Friends of the Northumberland Strait issued a news release Tuesday saying its membership is frustrated that after more than three months, the province has released no information about the size or cause of the leak last year near Pictou, N.S. Jill Graham-Scanlan, president of the group, said the public should be told the composition of the effluent that leaked and why the pipe break went initially undetected by the pulp and paper firm owned by Paper Excellence. >click to read<19:21
Nova Scotia fisherman says blockaders are being used as ‘scapegoat’ in fight with Northern Pulp
A Pictou fisherman of 30 years says Northern Pulp Mill’s successful injunction against those who’ve blocked mill survey boats is a blame tactic to hide the company’s lack of proper waste plan. Nearly 100 people from various environmental groups, Pictou Landing First Nation, Pictou area residents and other supporters rallied outside the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax amid blowing snow on Tuesday afternoon. The rally members said they were there to both support the fishermen named in the temporary injunction sought by Northern Pulp,,,, “If we allow it, our fisheries die,” >click to read<21:06
N.S. pulp mill due in court to ask for injunction against fishermen’s blockade
Lawyers for the Northern Pulp mill are due in Nova Scotia Supreme Court today to seek an injunction that would prevent fishermen from blocking survey boats hired to examine a route for an effluent pipeline. Kathy Cloutier, a spokeswoman for Northern Pulp’s parent company, Paper Excellence Canada, confirmed the mill is seeking an interim injunction to prevent blockades of the survey work in the Northumberland Strait. A group of fishermen has stated they would block any survey boats from entering the Strait. >click to read<11:30
Northern Pulp alleges death threats in legal action against fishermen
Northern Pulp says protesters preventing survey boats from working have threatened to “hunt” and “kill” subcontractors trying to work on a proposed effluent pipe in the Northumberland Strait. The details of the escalating conflict between the workers and area fishermen are described in court documents filed by Paper Excellence Canada on Tuesday.The company is seeking an injunction against fishermen who have blocked its survey vessels, saying it must be allowed to safely finish the work that is on an urgent deadline. The company alleges the final straw was on Nov. 19, when 25 boats chased a survey team to the pier and intentionally created dangerous waves, endangering the lives of the contracted employees. >click to read<20:51
Fishermen’s blockade prevents survey ship from getting out of Pictou Harbour
In a showdown in Pictou Harbour Monday morning, a fleet of fishing boats forced a survey vessel back to port. Close to 30 fishing boats surrounded a small survey vessel tied to the wharf in Pictou and the attempt to survey the area for Northern Pulp’s new pipeline might be shutting down for several days. “They made it out to the mouth of the harbour,” said fisherman Darryl Bowen.“We were all just sitting there. They couldn’t get through, so they just turned around and came back in.” (Thank God someone has some fight left in them!) >Video, click to read<
‘Get out of here,’ fishermen tell crew on Northern Pulp survey boat
After a confrontation on the water, a fleet of fishing boats escorted a vessel believed to be conducting survey work for Northern Pulp back to the harbour in Pictou, N.S., on Tuesday morning. Fisherman Allan MacCarthy was the first to reach the survey boat about three kilometres from Caribou, N.S. “I said to them, you better get out of here because the ones that are following me aren’t going to be as nice as I am,” he said. “I just told the guys in the boat, your job is not worth this. Get out of here. Get that boat back to Pictou.” >click to read<
UPDATE: Northern Pulp pipeline could harm herring spawning beds, say P.E.I. fishermen
A marine biologist working with the Island’s fisheries association says a proposed effluent pipeline in Pictou, N.S. could have negative impacts on already threatened fish and marine habitats in the Northumberland Strait. Speaking before the P.E.I. legislature’s standing committee on agriculture and fisheries on Friday, Melanie Giffin, who works with the P.E.I. Fisherman’s Association, said key Atlantic herring habitats in the Northumberland Strait could be threatened by the proposed Northern Pulp pipeline in Pictou Harbour. >click to read<11:47
Lobster Fishermen say $6M in taxpayer dollars for N.S. effluent plant is conflict of interest
Nova Scotia taxpayers have contributed $6 million toward design work and engineering studies for a new wastewater treatment plant that will handle effluent discharged from the Northern Pulp paper mill in Pictou County. Those against the plan to dump what comes out of the facility into the Northumberland Strait are not happy the province is picking up part of the cost. Those against the plan to dump what comes out of the facility into the Northumberland Strait are not happy the province is picking up part of the cost. “It’s a conflict of interest. A direct conflict of interest,” said Ronnie Heighton, a lobster fisherman and president of the Northumberland Fishermen’s Association.>click to read<15:50
Pulp fiction on a glorious summer weekend
The province churned out a little pulp fiction as another glorious summer weekend began. “Any decision,” according to the scripted words of Nova Scotia’s Environment Department, “must be based on science and the best available evidence.” Any decision, of course, is one decision, namely whether effluent from the Northern Pulp Mill will be pumped out into the middle of the Northumberland Strait for dispersal with the currents. Having shuffled the cabinet the day before Friday’s mass rally to protest the pipe plan crowded the old town of Pictou and its harbour, the government could pretend it didn’t have a minister briefed-up to speak to the issue. >click to read<10:00
