Northvolt reiterates that it is unable to reveal details about the pumping and discharge of water into the Richelieu River to supply its future plants in Montérégie. However, the company has been taking steps for several months to obtain the necessary authorizations to install pipelines starting next year, it has learned The DutyThe issue is also causing concern among citizens in the region.
To operate its Northvolt Six and Revolt factories, the Swedish multinational intends to pump water from the Richelieu River. This water will be used to cool the equipment, but also for the “manufacturing process” of the batteries. After its use, it will be discharged into the waterway — in compliance with environmental “requirements,” the company assures.
However, it refuses to provide details regarding this aspect of the industrial project funded by the governments of Quebec and Canada, particularly with regard to the volumes of water that will be pumped and discharged. “The design work is continuing to determine the necessary volumes […]”When the design is finalized and we have the exact data, we will communicate it to the public,” Northvolt said in a written response.
However, the steps to obtain the necessary authorizations to use the water from the Richelieu River are well underway with government authorities, according to what emerges from exchanges between Northvolt and Fisheries and Oceans Canada obtained by The Duty under Canada’s Access to Information Act.
Following a request sent in mid-April, we obtained on July 18 about a hundred pages of emails, some of which are redacted. These emails show that Northvolt has had several exchanges and meetings with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on this subject since last fall.
It should be noted that the company must comply with the Fisheries Act, which prohibits damaging fish habitat, but also the Species at Risk Act, which prohibits destroying an element of the “critical habitat” of a protected species, in this case the copper redhorse. There are several habitats of this fish in the Richelieu River, particularly in the area of the future plant.
It is in this context that, as of October 30, 2023, a meeting is planned between Northvolt and representatives of Fisheries and Oceans Canada around an exchange of emails entitled “Follow-up meeting — water intake in the Richelieu River”.
On February 8, 2024, the “environmental manager” at Northvolt, Valérie Hébert, requested another meeting in order to “provide an update on the progress of the project, mainly with regard to upcoming activities related to the collection and discharge of water into the Richelieu River.”
Five days later, she wrote again to Fisheries and Oceans Canada to request a meeting: “We simply wish to keep you informed and gather your comments regarding the next steps planned by Northvolt in order to obtain the required federal authorizations.”
Application filed
In late February, Northvolt said it would file “a request for review on this subject as soon as we have sufficient information” on the pump and discharge project, while specifying that “design work is underway.” This request for regulatory review, which allows Fisheries and Oceans Canada to assess whether the project poses risks to fish and fish habitat, was filed on June 30, the department said in an email.
But before submitting the project details to Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of the regulatory review application, Northvolt contacted the department in March to find out if it could “validate the aquatic inventory protocols to ensure that the effort and method are to your full satisfaction for obtaining the required authorizations for Northvolt’s planned work in the Richelieu River.” Fisheries and Oceans Canada responded that this would be possible “only when a review application is filed.”
“Would it be possible to tell us which document we should refer to regarding the maximum suction speed (0.05 m/s) for a water intake discussed at the meeting on February 23?” wrote Northvolt’s environmental manager on April 3. The emails obtained by The Duty do not provide further details regarding this request for clarification addressed to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Has inventory work or any other type of work been carried out in the river following discussions with the federal ministry? “This work is currently underway. The results obtained will allow us to complete the authorization requests with the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, as well as with Fisheries and Oceans Canada,” explains Northvolt in a written response sent Monday.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada added that a meeting was held on July 30 with Northvolt, while specifying that “the installation of pipes in the Richelieu River” for the collection and discharge of water would be “planned for fall 2025.” The department assures that it also reminded the company of “the presence of essential habitats of the copper redhorse in the Richelieu River.”
Director General of the Société pour la nature et les parcs du Québec, Alain Branchaud deplores Northvolt’s intentions. “When reading the exchanges and documents, it is shocking to see that Northvolt does not seem to want to seriously examine alternatives to pumping water from the Richelieu River. However, alternatives do indeed exist to avoid further stress on the copper redhorse. Even more disturbing, Northvolt seems to want to completely ignore any impact of their activities on the essential habitat of this species,” he argued Wednesday.
“Concerns”
Beyond the issue of protecting biodiversity, the pumping and discharge of water by the company is causing “concern” among citizens who live along the Richelieu River, downstream from the site slated for major industrial development.
This is what emerges from the document detailing the “issues” that the impact study of the Revolt battery recycling plant project should address, as part of the environmental assessment process that will lead to a review by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement.
The battery manufacturing plant project escaped this environmental procedure, which has been applied for several years to all major industrial projects in Quebec. But the Revolt plant, which will be built in a second phase, is subject to this procedure, which involves carrying out an impact study.
In this context, the Ministry of the Environment has conducted an initial consultation. “Among the main concerns of citizens are the potential risks of pollution of the Richelieu River and the air, the impacts on public health, the safety issues related to industrial activities, the noise and visual nuisances for neighbouring residents, as well as the challenges posed by the expected increase in road and rail traffic,” responded the City of McMasterville, quoted in a document produced by the ministry.
“Citizens are concerned about possible toxic discharges into the Richelieu River, affecting fauna, flora and the quality of drinking water,” the municipality also stressed.