Northvolt will have to install a water pumping system in the Richelieu River in order to supply its factory’s industrial equipment. But before moving forward, the company will likely need to obtain a federal permit under the Endangered Species Act, noted The duty. The operation will in fact take place in a protected “critical habitat” of the copper redhorse, an endangered fish, which only exists in Quebec.
The debate on the Northvolt factory project mainly concerns the impacts on biodiversity attributable to the destruction of the site’s natural environments. But the company also plans to pump water into the Richelieu River and discharge it after use.
This “will be used for cooling the equipment and, to a lesser extent, as part of the manufacturing process,” explains Northvolt, without specifying what volumes will be necessary. However, it is claimed that all water discharges into the river will comply with current environmental “requirements”.
The company also intends to submit a request to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) under the Fisheries Act, since the Richelieu River is a fish habitat and federal legislation prohibits harming this habitat.
“Critical habitat”
The stretch of river located opposite the plant site also includes areas considered “critical habitat” for the copper redhorse, under the provisions of Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA).
This means that it is strictly forbidden to destroy any element of this habitat, unless you obtain a “permit” from the federal government. And this permit can only be granted if it is requested for “scientific research”, an “activity which benefits the species” or if the project “only affects the species incidentally”.
This approach is not simple, as we can see in the file for the Contrecoeur industrial port project. The promoters may have obtained the green light for their project in March 2021, but they are still waiting to obtain the permit that would allow them to destroy elements of the critical habitat of the copper redhorse in the St. Lawrence River.
By email, Northvolt did not respond to the question from Duty, who asked whether an application for authorization under SARA would be submitted to DFO. The ministry confirms that, for the moment, no request has been made, the company is therefore required to comply with “all the provisions” of this legislation.
MPO therefore reminds that it is “prohibited to harm” the critical habitat of the copper redhorse without first holding a “permit”. To obtain it, “the proponent must provide all the necessary information to demonstrate that the proposed project is the one that most promotes the conservation of the species and demonstrate that the activity will not jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species”.
There are only two known spawning grounds for the copper redhorse, both located in the Richelieu River. One of them is located upstream of the Northvolt site. This means that larvae and very young fish can end up in this essential area of their habitat, which is also used for migration and feeding by adult fish.
The Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) also recognizes the presence of a copper redhorse habitat and the need to “ensure the protection” of its habitat, while specifying that “the details of the pumping project have not been submitted” to the ministry.
“Very significant impacts”
Director general of the Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec, Alain Branchaud says Northvolt will have to request a permit from the federal government before installing a water pumping system, pumping water and releasing it into the river.
“These operations can potentially have very significant impacts on the critical habitat of the copper redhorse. They [les dirigeants de Northvolt] will therefore have to apply for a permit under the Species at Risk Act. We do not have all the technical information, due to the lack of transparency, but the promoters will also have to present the alternatives which have been analyzed. »
“We can also ask ourselves the following question: is it normal to cool industrial processes with water from a river which serves as a habitat for an endangered species? With an environmental assessment, we could have discussed this issue. But currently, we do not even know the volume of water that will be used,” adds Mr. Branchaud, who worked on the development of the artificial reproduction program for the copper redhorse set up to try to avoid the disappearance of this species. species.
The MELCCFP also adds that water withdrawal will require authorization from the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, under the Environmental Quality Act. Same thing for “the discharge of this water after use in the process”. Any intervention in a wildlife habitat, such as the Richelieu River, also requires “prior authorization” from the ministry.