For decades, Pictou Landing First Nation has lived uneasily near an industrial plant emitting brown, foul-smelling waste and the effluent treatment facility they say causes respiratory and skin illnesses. Now, the mill is being mothballed. Ms. Francis, a member of Pictou Landing First Nation, fought for years to stop toxic wastewater from the Northern Pulp plant from being pumped into a tidal estuary next to her community. After decades of court battles, environmental studies and protests, people on the Nova Scotia reserve are hopeful they may one day be able trust their water and land again.
Pulp mill 'at risk,' CEO says after N.S. review of contentious wastewater plan
The future of a Nova Scotia pulp mill remained uncertain Friday as the province asked for more work on its contentious proposal to pipe 85 million litres of its treated wastewater into the Northumberland Strait. The Northern Pulp paper mill has become a flashpoint, with its plan to pump waste into rich fishing grounds pitting forest industry workers against fishermen, environmentalists and even the P.E.I. government — which opposes the plan due to concerns over the impact on lobster harvesting.
Northern Pulp's plans for pipeline, effluent treatment plant now public
Nova Scotians now have access to the details of Northern Pulp's controversial plan to build a new effluent treatment plant and discharge pipeline that will empty into the Northumberland Strait. The plan put forward to the Environment Department is to build a "biological activated sludge" treatment facility purchased from a Paris-based multinational corporation called Veolia Water Technologies.