Jan
23
2018
Statement from Premier MacLauchlan on proposed Northern Pulp effluent treatment facility
Premier Wade MacLauchlan today wrote to the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna and Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil expressing concerns regarding Northern Pulp’s plans for a new effluent treatment facility for its Pictou County mill.
“I share the concerns of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island fishers that an outflow pipe placed into the Northumberland Strait could have unintended consequences for our commercial fishery and aquaculture industries,” the premier wrote. “An effluent pipe that would allow as much as 75,000 cubic metres of fresh warm water to be directed daily into the Northumberland Strait is not a project that our government will support as proposed.”
Premier MacLauchlan noted that the Northumberland Strait has one of the more sensitive areas within the Gulf of St Lawrence with unique tidal and water circulation patterns. The federal government has committed to increasing and enhancing protection for all marine species, habitat, and sensitive ecosystems in the gulf through the development of Marine Protected Area Networks.
“I am confident that we all agree that any development that risks the habitat and reproductive cycle of species such as lobster - or that threatens the livelihood of thousands of families dependent on the fisheries in the Northumberland Strait - cannot proceed,” the premier wrote.
For the full text of the letter, please visit https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/statement-premier-maclauchlan-proposed-northern-pulp-effluent-treatment-facility