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Department of Environment gives AIM permission to restart Saint John operations Monday

AIM is set to restart operations at its Saint John facility on Monday. Andrew Cromwell/Global News

American Iron & Metal Inc., (AIM) is set to restart operations at its Saint John facility on Monday, after New Brunswick’s Department of Environment and Local Government cleared all of their operations for a 90-day trial period.

The New Brunswick government ordered AIM to cease all of its operations on Nov. 22, as the result of multiple complaints over explosions and excessive noise in the weeks before New Brunswick stepped in.

The company’s metal shredder was found to be the source of at least some of the complaints, having caused more than 40 explosions in the past 16 months.

READ MORE: AIM says Saint John facility may close if deal with province can’t be reached

The department says it has been working with AIM since the order was issued, and the company has put a plan in place that will allow operations to restart on Monday.

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The plan reportedly requires AIM to take measures to eliminate explosions and the impact of excessive noise and vibrations on site and at their supply source.

“The company needs to ensure their operations are safe for the environment and for their neighbours,” said Minister of Environment and Local Government Jeff Carr in a statement to Global News.

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“We will continue to monitor their progress closely and ensure they live up to their commitments.”

The decision comes only days after the owner of AIM told Global News that if the shredder wasn’t up and running by Monday, he wouldn’t be able to fill a scrap order for December and would likely be forced to shut the plant down permanently.

“Obviously if environment doesn’t come back to [me] and tell [me] what the problem is and give [me] an opportunity, if there is a problem, to correct it … [I’ll] unfortunately have to close up,” Herb Black said on Friday.
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Black did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday evening.

A group of Saint John residents who have led a campaign as a result of the explosion said on Friday that 24/7 monitoring of the site was needed for it to be reopened.

“If the stop work order was released, we’d be supportive of that if there was a commitment from the province to do the sort of testing that residents have been asking for such a long time,” said Raven Blue of Livable Saint John.

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