The Sanimax factory in Montreal will have to close its doors if the Plante administration can apply tougher regulations on odors and emissions into the atmosphere, the company worried on Tuesday, while Quebec is still in analysis. .
Posted yesterday at 4:09 p.m.
“Strict application of the regulations as such would cause the revocation of our permits and put an end to our operations in Montreal, with significant environmental, health and agri-food repercussions throughout Quebec. This is a very worrying situation, ”said the CEO of Sanimax in North America, Martial Hamel, on Tuesday.
He states that more generally, this regulation “would have major consequences for the agri-food chain in Quebec, in which Sanimax plays a pivotal role in the recovery and revaluation of organic materials”.
Mr. Hamel says he is “still determined to implement the measures and investments presented to the City of Montreal”. “Last week we sent a meeting request to Mayor Valérie Plante in order to resolve the impasse, and we are still waiting for a return,” he insists.
At the end of July, the City announced that it intended to tighten the screw on Sanimax, whose factory located in Rivière-des-Prairies employing 300 people continues to arouse the ire of citizens because of the nauseating odors. Under this regulation, the company would have to store animal matter in a building and can no longer keep it outside, giving Sanimax 18 months to build a garage.
The regulation “on emissions into the atmosphere”, adopted in mid-June by the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM), also includes guidelines on opening hours and compliance with an odor threshold, in more than giving the power to the municipal authorities to suspend or revoke an operating permit if they deem that the situation is not in conformity. Mr. Hamel had denounced in the process that the approach misses the target, affirming that the solution lies in a “global plan”, which he claims to have submitted to the City in 2019, including the construction of a garage.
Quebec in analysis, Montreal reacts
It is up to Quebec to decide whether or not this regulation can be applied: the government normally has 60 days to respond, ie until mid-August.
“The decision has not yet been made. We are still studying the question at the ministry,” Rosalie Tremblay-Cloutier, press secretary to Environment Minister Benoit Charette, spoke on Tuesday, stressing the need for Montreal and Sanimax “to find land agreement” that takes into account “populations, the environment and the agri-food chain.
The City pleads that it acted in good faith from the start. “The company has not submitted any complete plan respecting the regulations. Discussions have instead focused on presenting options and ideas for expanding its plant, ignoring the regulations in place. In no case did the City have a complete plan, costed with a commitment to reduce nuisances, ”insists the press officer, Marikym Gaudreault.
“We do not want Sanimax to intensify the activities of its plant, which is located in the heart of a residential sector, while it does not comply with air quality standards. […] What we want is for it to comply with standards and reduce its nuisances,” she continues.
Montreal affirms that a government plan is urgent in Montreal, to regulate the activities of Sanimax. Such a plan was already announced in April, to reduce odors at the Sanimax plant in Lévis.