'A lot of moving parts' to Northern Pulp cleanup, says environment minister | CBC News
If Nova Scotia's environment minister has information about the cleanup process for the property where the Northern Pulp mill once operated, including what it could cost and who might be responsible for the work, he wasn't sharing the details with reporters on Thursday.
"There's a lot of moving parts," Tim Halman said following a cabinet meeting in Halifax.
"When the time is right, we'll have more to say to Nova Scotians."
Northern Pulp is winding down its business, as the owner of the shuttered mill in Pictou County works through a multi-year creditor protection process. That process, which includes selling off assets, calls for the company to put $15 million toward a closure plan.
Recent court filings, however, have raised questions about whether even that amount of money will be available, and there's a suggestion that Northern Pulp could even file for bankruptcy.
Halman could not say what that would mean for the cleanup of the property at Abercrombie Point, which also once included a chemical plant. A spokesperson for the minister later clarified that the creditor protection process must conclude in order to determine legal responsibility for the mill cleanup.
"The reclamation of the site is triggered under the Environment Act once closure details are finalized," Cindy Porter said in an email.
Halman said he's not seen an estimate for what it would cost to clean up the land. By comparison, the current estimate to clean up Boat Harbour -- the former tidal estuary the mill used for decades to treat its effluent -- is pegged at about $425 million.
Premier Tim Houston told reporters that there is some uncertainty around cleanup costs, as well as what kind of support might be available.
Halman also could not provide any details about when he might have more information for the public about what will happen with the site.
"I know people are legit asking that, but, look, we'll have more to say," he said.
Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said projects of this magnitude don't come cheap. He pointed to the cleanup of the Sydney tar ponds as an example, which cost about $400 million.
"And that was over a decade ago, so that gives you kind of the scale of how big these projects may be," he told reporters.
"These are things that the government should be talking to the community about."
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the history of the mill is the "defining example" of environmental racism in recent Nova Scotia history and Halman needs to be upfront with the public about how his government will deal with it.