Nova Scotia government to spend $19 million to dredge lagoon near First Nation

The Northern Pulp mill is seen in Abercrombie, N.S. on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia says it will spend $19 million to clean up layers of sludge in Boat Harbour created by effluent from the Northern Pulp mill.

The province said in a news release Monday the cleanup of the lagoon near a Mi'kmaq community is expected to start in 2022, following the completion of a federal environmental assessment.

The Nova Scotia Lands Agency says Northern Pulp, a subsidiary of Paper Excellence, is considered to be responsible for dredging the top layer of sludge, which must be removed before a wider cleanup can begin.

Northern Pulp, however, hasn't met several provincial deadlines to submit a plan for cleaning up the waste.

The release says without an approved decommissioning plan, there is a risk the company's dredging would overlap with the province's $292-million Boat Harbour remediation project and cause further delays.

Nova Scotia says the two parties can't dredge on the site at the same time and that the province can't continue to wait.

The company wasn't immediately available for comment.

Lloyd Hines, minister responsible for Nova Scotia Lands, says the goal is to return Boat Harbour to its original state as a tidal estuary, and that this is a commitment the province intends to keep.

According to the province, Northern Pulp was to develop a decommissioning plan with details regarding the removal and disposal of all solid waste located within the open ditches, settling basins and aeration basins by no later than Aug. 1, 2020.

The company was provided an extension to Feb. 28 this year, but the province says the firm has not yet submitted a complete plan.

Once cleaned up, Boat Harbour and the surrounding lands will be returned to the possession of Pictou Landing First Nation

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2021.