N.B. legislation lays groundwork for Mactaquac dam refurbishment

New Brunswick’s energy minister wants the Mactaquac dam refurbishment project to move forward.

The New Brunswick government has introduced legislation that would lay the groundwork for the refurbishment of the Mactaquac dam, a project that is estimated to cost $9 billion.

The Mactaquac Life Achievement Project Act would not approve the work on the dam, but it would ensure it could move forward, according to a news release from the province.

“We recognize that this project is a major endeavour, logistically and financially, and we have created legislation to improve its feasibility,” said Energy Minister René Legacy in the release.

But Legacy did confirm, the project will be going ahead eventually.

“The Mactaquac life achievement project is going to go forward at one point. It’s been studied since 2016. Unfortunately, a lot of time was wasted the last six years, we probably should have started but they restudied to find other options,” he told reporters. “The board has relooked at it for almost a decade now. It’s going to go ahead. How, is another story.”

The dam, which came online in 1968, supplies roughly 12 per cent of New Brunswick homes and businesses with power. NB Power notes concrete portions of the station have swelled and cracked due to alkali-aggregate reaction.

“NB Power is proposing a project to ensure the station can operate to its intended 100-year lifespan with a modified approach to maintenance and adjusting and replacing equipment over time,” the utility says on its website. “The project will also include enhanced upstream and downstream fish passage. This recommendation follows three years of expert research, including input from science, engineers, the public and First Nations.”

Last month, NB Power CEO Lori Clark said the refurbishment project could cost up to $9 billion spread over 15 years.

If passed, the proposed legislation would:

• exempt the refurbishment project from the bonding requirements of the Construction Remedies Act
• designate the work as a major project under the Industrial Relations Act following the conclusion of the labour agreement process with trade associations and unions
• clarify that all procurements related to the work are exempt from the Procurement Act
• signal to federal funding instruments like the Canada Infrastructure Bank that the province is ready to negotiate

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Laura Brown

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