News release

Bill Sets Timeline to Close Boat Harbour

Internal Services (June 2014 - May 2019)

Legislation was introduced today, April 17, to close the Boat Harbour Effluent Treatment Facility in Pictou County in January 2020.

Last June, a leak was discovered in the pipeline carrying wastewater from the mill to the treatment facility at Boat Harbour. Meetings between the government and the Pictou Landing First Nation led to government promising to put a timeline for the closure of the treatment facility into law within a year.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," said Pictou Landing First Nation Chief Andrea Paul. "I have the personal assurance of Premier Stephen McNeil that the treatment facility will be closed this time."

By 2020, the treatment facility will stop receiving wastewater from the mill. Planning for the remediation of Boat Harbour is already underway, and some parts of the estuary could be treated earlier to test different technologies.

"This government is committed to removing this environmental scar and making Boat Harbour a place the community can enjoy once again," said Internal Services Minister Labi Kousoulis.

The treatment facility has been operating for almost 50 years and Pictou Landing First Nation has long advocated for its closure.