Plan to restart idled Northern Pulp mill in Nova Scotia to be redrafted: company

HALIFAX — The owners of an idled pulp mill in northern Nova Scotia say their plans for a new effluent treatment facility have been withdrawn from the province’s environmental assessment process.

Northern Pulp issued a statement today saying the company is instead drafting a new plan that calls for an overhaul of the mill near Pictou, N.S., and a more advanced treatment facility.

The plant, which once employed about 300 people, was shuttered in January 2020 after then premier Stephen McNeil decided Northern Pulp would no longer be allowed to dump effluent near the Pictou Landing First Nation.

The company had submitted two plans that would have seen the mill dumping wastewater directly into the Northumberland Strait, but the province rejected both options in December 2019.

Despite the shutdown of the mill, owned by Paper Excellence Canada, new plans for effluent treatment were submitted for environmental review and the province announced in May 2020 it would spend up to $10 million to help the company clean up the site.

The province said the money would help pay for removal of leachate, decommissioning of effluent pipes and cleanup of ditches and aeration basins on the site. It said the work is expected to be completed by June 30, 2021. 

The province owns the pipe that runs from the mill to the now-closed effluent lagoon.

In June 2020, the mill was granted protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, a move aimed at allowing the company to restructure. At the time, Paper Excellence said it wanted to preserve the value of its assets as it explored alternatives for restarting the mill.

“We are committed to doing things differently,” Northern Pulp spokesman Graham Kissack said in today’s statement.

Northern Pulp is developing a plan to “transform the mill” and address the concerns of local residents, special interest groups and First Nations, he said.

“We have taken the time to listen and review input received over the past few years to inform the development of environmental transformation and modernization plans for everything from community engagement to forestry practices to addressing odour, air, and water emissions,” he said.

The mill’s bleached softwood kraft pulp was used to make tissue, paper towels, fine writing paper and other products.

The company plans to submit a new proposal to the provincial government before the end of the month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2021.

The Canadian Press