Nova Scotia government announced Thursday that the focus report for Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent treatment plant has been made available online for the public.
Now Nova Scotians will have 30 days to share their comments as part of the environmental assessment process, which will ruin until Thursday, Nov. 8, at 11:59 p.m.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia pulp mill submits focus report to province on effluent proposal
The proposed project consists of the development of a new effluent (wastewater) treatment facility (ETF) constructed on Northern Pulp property, and a transmission pipeline which would pump millions of litres of treated wastewater into the nearby Northumberland Strait daily.
According to a Canadian Press report on Oct. 2, company officials have said if their plan to pipe 85 million litres of treated wastewater into the Strait is not approved, the mill will close, putting more than 300 employees out of work.
READ MORE: End of Northern Pulp not viewed as a disaster by some N.S. woodlot owners
The province’s Liberal government passed legislation in 2015 that gave the mill until Jan. 31, 2020, to come up with a new treatment plant project.
That requirement marks a key government commitment to the Pictou Landing First Nation to clean up the Boat Harbour treatment lagoon, which is located on the doorstep of the Mi’kmaq community and currently holds the mill’s wastewater.
According to the province, a decision on the proposal is due by Dec. 17.
-With files from the Canadian Press