Latest news with #NorthernPulp
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
N.S. government awaiting news on feasibility study for new pulp mill in Liverpool
Nine months after officials with Northern Pulp started examining the viability of a new mill in Queens County, Premier Tim Houston says it is his understanding the work continues. Houston announced last May that his government and officials with Northern Pulp's parent company had reached a settlement agreement that ended years of legal wrangling, and would allow time to explore the viability of constructing a new mill at or around the site of the former Bowater mill near Liverpool. That work was expected to take about nine months. One of the conditions the company has set for moving ahead with a new mill is that it would generate an internal rate of return greater than 14 per cent. On Friday, the premier told reporters that he believes the company is still working to complete its feasibility study. It's fair to say that company officials want to move ahead and think there is a business case, said Houston, but he added that they're still crunching numbers. "I think they're at the financing stage and seeing what financing is possible," he said. Houston said he hasn't received a formal request for financial assistance from the company. Premier Tim Houston says he is hopeful that a new mill could move forward, but he's yet to receive an update on the company's feasibility study. (CBC) The Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County was forced to shut down in 2020 following the company's failure to obtain provincial approval for a new effluent treatment facility. A replacement was required after members of the legislature unanimously passed the Boat Harbour Act, a bill that ended early the lease Northern Pulp had to use the former tidal estuary to treat effluent from the mill. Since then, the company filed for creditor protection. Ensuing lawsuits and legal threats between the two sides came to an end last May when the settlement agreement was announced. Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told reporters on Friday that the latest update he has on the file is that company officials plan to file more paperwork next week as part of the creditor protection proceedings in the British Columbia Supreme Court. "What's in those papers, I don't know," he said. "We've been very supportive of the process, trying to make a pathway forward for an environmentally-friendly mill — a new era mill to come to the area — but right now it's certainly with the company to make that decision and make that known to the public." Premier remains hopeful A company spokesperson confirmed to CBC earlier this week that officials are preparing to file their next affidavit for the court hearing. Rushton said the forestry sector needs a market for pulpwood and low-grade wood products to take the place of what Northern Pulp used to consume. It's something that was outlined in the Lahey report on sustainable forestry, he said. But whether that new market is a new pulp mill remains to be seen. Rushton noted that there could be other options, such as the creation of biofuels and aviation fuels using forestry byproducts. A recent study also made the case that the development of biomass combined heat and power plants, along with associated district heating networks, could create a market for low-grade wood and chips. A new mill would have "a huge impact" on the forestry sector, including for people who work in the woods and woodlot owners who need their land managed, said Rushton. "Forestry touches every corner of this province," he said. The premier agreed, saying there is "a tremendous need for a mill in this province." "That's for sure and certainly the industry is hopeful — I'm hopeful." MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
01-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Pictou Landing First Nation seeks judicial review of Boat Harbour cleanup plan
'I just want to make sure it's done the right way,' says chief Pictou Landing First Nation has asked the Federal Court to overturn Ottawa's approval of a plan to store contaminated sludge from Boat Harbour in an enclosed structure on nearby land. The Mi'kmaw community in northern Nova Scotia has filed for a judicial review of the decision from federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. Guilbeault said last month that the proposed remediation of Boat Harbour, which for decades received wastewater from a kraft paper mill, "is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects." In a submission to the Federal Court this week, Pictou Landing First Nation argued Guilbeault's decision was "patently unreasonable." The submission mentions insufficient consultation, interference with treaty rights and violations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, among other grounds. Supporting documents have not yet been filed with the court. Image | The Northern Pulp mill in Abercrombie Point, N.S. Caption: The Northern Pulp mill in Abercrombie Point, N.S., viewed from Pictou, N.S., Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, a few months before it closed. (Robert Short/CBC) Open Image in New Tab The respondents are the federal environment minister and Build Nova Scotia, the provincial Crown corporation that's in charge of the Boat Harbour cleanup project. Neither party has yet filed a response. Nova Scotia Public Works Minister Fred Tilley, who oversees Build Nova Scotia, declined to comment on the case while it's before the courts. 'We can't really heal' Guilbeault's approval incorporated several conditions, including the creation of an advisory committee to examine alternative locations for storing the sludge. But he stopped short of mandating that an alternative site be found. Build Nova Scotia would be allowed to use the existing containment cell, as planned, and then move the sludge again if an "economically feasible" alternative is found. Pictou Landing Chief Tamara Young said she's worried that if the containment cell is used at all, her community will never be rid of the sludge. "I just want to make sure it's done the right way," she said in an interview. Young said her community lacks trust in government because of the history of Boat Harbour. Pictou Landing First Nation agreed to sell the former tidal estuary to the province in the 1960s so it could be used to treat effluent from the mill at Abercrombie Point, N.S., that was most recently known as the Northern Pulp mill. Community members have said they were duped into the deal with false assurances that the effluent wouldn't be harmful, but they soon noticed major environmental changes. "We can't really heal as a community if we keep that containment cell there," Young said. In earlier stages of planning the remediation, Build Nova Scotia said one alternative was to send the sludge to a facility outside the province, but ruled it cost-prohibitive because of the huge volume of sludge that would have to be hauled away by transport trucks. Young said the community is pushing for storage of the sludge on the site of the now-shuttered pulp mill, which would overcome the hurdle of long-distance transportation. She said she's eager for the committee that Guilbeault ordered to get to work so that option can be fully investigated.
CBC
25-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Liberal bill would require considering wood heat for N.S. public buildings
Liberal House leader Iain Rankin says a bill his party tabled last week at Province House would create new markets for the forestry industry while helping to heat public buildings with something other than oil. The Wood Chip Heating Systems in Public Buildings Act would require Nova Scotia government officials to consider wood heat systems in all new public buildings or in cases of major retrofits, including for schools and hospitals. In an interview last week, Rankin said there would be multiple benefits to the initiative. "For the climate, because it is a renewable resource. It could be a cost savings to the province because of the volatility of oil prices — so it's displacing oil — and it creates a good economic advantage to areas of the province that are predominantly rural." Rankin said the bill is a nod to the 2018 Lahey report on sustainable forestry practices, which advocated for the use of efficient wood heat as a way to create markets for wood chips and low-grade forestry byproducts from ecological forestry. The industry has struggled to find such markets since the shutdown of the Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County five years ago. When Rankin was lands and forestry minister in a former Liberal government, he said there was an extensive list of public buildings that could be converted to wood heat. Since the change in government in 2021, however, he said it seems like there is less interest in using wood heat. He called on Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton to champion the cause as a way to promote more ecological forestry and create economic development for rural communities. In a recent interview, Rushton said he's interested in exploring new markets for low-grade wood and chips, and noted an ongoing assessment of the viability of a new pulp mill in Queens County and the potential creation of a hub for sustainable aviation fuel that would use biomass as part of the process. Rankin's bill comes on the heels of a report from Nova Scotia-based TorchLight Bioresources, which makes the case for the development of biomass combined heat and power plants, along with associated district heating networks, throughout the province. Another option that incorporates wood heat The plants would be fuelled with low-grade wood products and the byproducts of ecological forestry, with generated electricity going into the grid and generated heat being delivered to homes and buildings through a network of underground pipes. The process is common in countries such as Denmark, Finland and Sweden, according to the report. "None of this is experimental, this is actually what has driven decarbonization in these [countries]," Jamie Stephen, TorchLight's managing director, said in a recent interview. Although the establishment of the power plants and pipe networks would cost billions of dollars, the report points to financing options through pension funds and private-sector equity investment without relinquishing ownership. Co-operative ownership, which is common in Europe, is another option. Stephen said combined district heat and power plant systems would help control heating costs in the province while making Nova Scotia less dependent on energy imports and positioning the province to become a net exporter of energy.
CBC
28-01-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Federal minister signs off on province's Boat Harbour cleanup plan
The Nova Scotia government has a green light from Ottawa for its $425-million plan to remediate Boat Harbour, but it comes with a long list of conditions that includes continuing to look for another site to store contaminated sludge in the long term. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault issued his decision last Friday following an environmental assessment by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, work that began almost six years ago for the cleanup of the body of water near Pictou Landing First Nation that for decades received effluent from the Northern Pulp mill. In his decision, Guilbeault wrote that he determined the project by Build Nova Scotia "is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects." Under terms of the approval, an existing on-site hazardous waste containment facility would be vertically expanded, increasing its capacity from 220,000 cubic metres to almost 1.1 million cubic metres. Before that work can go ahead, however, officials at Build Nova Scotia — a provincial agency previously known as Nova Scotia Lands — must satisfy a variety of conditions including but not limited to: Communications planning. First Nations consultation. Protection of fish and fish habitat. Protection of migratory birds. Preservation of health and socio-economic conditions of Indigenous people. Retention of an independent environmental monitor and Indigenous monitors "to observe, record, and report on the implementation of the conditions" throughout the process. An advisory committee also has to be established to examine alternative locations for the sludge removed from Boat Harbour. Considering alternative storage sites The committee is a nod to ongoing concerns and opposition from the neighbouring Pictou Landing First Nation, whose chief and council do not want the sludge that's removed from the former tidal estuary kept in the area. Guilbeault's order says Build Nova Scotia shall invite Pictou Landing members to act as co-leads on the advisory body and provide whatever resources are required as they consider alternative sites. "If an alternative location cannot be found within one year, the advisory committee can continue its work for 10 years or until both parties agree in writing to terminate, whichever comes first," he wrote. The committee could also be re-established at a later date. The minister said Build Nova Scotia must "design and construct the containment cell in a manner such that the waste can be removed and the containment cell can be decommissioned" if another viable site is identified and approved. Challenges such as the cost and traffic entailed to truck the sludge elsewhere, along with potential environmental risks, all contributed to the plan Build Nova Scotia ultimately submitted. Province reviewing conditions Officials with Pictou Landing First Nation did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. A spokesperson for Build Nova Scotia said in a statement that the agency would take time to review the conditions to determine what it means for implementation of the project. "We'll be able to speak to the decision once we have completed our review," Beverley Ware said in the statement. Ware said eight years of studies and evaluation have gone into the project and the current timeline for the remediation and construction phase is four to seven years once the contract is awarded. "That time frame is dependent upon the successful proponent's submission and that proponent's approach to sequencing project activities and overall scheduling. The current budget estimate is $425 million." Company considers another option The cleanup project follows the shutdown of the former Northern Pulp mill at Abercrombie Point in 2020. The company ceased production when it failed to get approval from the province for a new effluent treatment facility ahead of a legislated closure date for effluent being treated at Boat Harbour. The work by Build Nova Scotia is intended to restore Boat Harbour to the tidal estuary it was before the pulp mill was first established in the area in the 1960s.
