Northern Pulp Expects to Have Report Ordered by Province Ready by September
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Officials with the company that owns the Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County have told their employees they expect to complete the requirements of a focus report ordered by the province by September.
That would create a scenario that could see the government revisit the date to close Boat Harbour, the treatment site for the mill’s effluent.
Company officials, including Paper Excellence Canada CEO Brian Baarda, met with union leadership Wednesday in Halifax and with mill employees in Pictou County on Thursday.
The company was ordered to complete the focus report when then-environment minister Margaret Miller ruled in March that its application for a new treatment facility, which would include a pipeline running from the mill at Abercombie Point to the Northumberland Strait, lacked sufficient information.
The company had a year to complete the work. Once the report is submitted there is a 30-day public consultation period and then Environment Department staff have 25 days to make a recommendation to the minister.
If the timeline shared with workers holds true, and the department ultimately recommends the minister approve the project, it means the company could have its permit in November or December.
