The preparatory work carried out by Northvolt on the South Shore of Montreal is the subject of a request for an injunction. The Quebec Environmental Law Center (CQDE) wants to “suspend and immediately cease” the activity on the land which is to accommodate a battery cell mega-factory.
In a request filed Thursday with the Superior Court of Quebec, the plaintiffs plead the urgency of acting to avoid “serious harm to the environment” while heavy machinery has already started to be activated on the site which overlaps Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville.
“Wetlands in the Richelieu River basin, in particular, are so rare that they fail to fulfill their essential ecological functions,” argue the CQDE lawyers, in the 31-page document.
In principle, the request should be heard this Friday at the Montreal courthouse.
Preliminary activities
After obtaining authorization from the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) last week, the young Swedish startup kicked off the preparatory work for its complex at the start of this week.
The construction site will notably affect 13 hectares of wetlands. The 170-hectare site is also home to a nesting area for the least bittern, a bird considered a vulnerable species whose presence has been detected three times since 2016.
Common amphibians were also observed, as well as the spiny softshell turtle.
“At this time, the CQDE is requesting an injunction to suspend the work until it can be determined whether the authorization [ministérielle] is valid, says his lawyer Marc Bishai, in a telephone interview. At this time, the authorization appears to have been issued inconsistently. »
” Two weights, two measures “
As recently as last March, Quebec blocked a real estate project on the land where Northvolt will be located, citing concerns for biodiversity on the site. There appears to be “double standards”, says the Council. The former owner of the place, Quartier MC2 – a consortium in which we find businessman Luc Poirier – wanted to build more than 2,400 homes near the McMasterville commuter train station.
“We are aware of the request and will get back to you,” Northvolt responded in a statement Thursday afternoon.
The preparatory work includes the felling of around 14,000 living and dead trees. We must also carry out land leveling, deforestation work – over several hectares –, excavation and backfilling. This is not, for the moment, the construction of the buildings of the complex, for which other authorizations will be necessary.
Supported by three citizens, the CQDE affirms that the case of Northvolt demonstrates the importance of having a public environmental register, provided for by law since 2018. This register would allow the public to have access to project information and to its conditions.
This access to information is all the more important, according to the organization, as the construction of the Northvolt factory was not subject to “the procedure for examining and evaluating environmental impacts , including public hearings before the Office of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE).”
Northvolt will have to compensate for the loss of natural environments for biodiversity that its initial work will cause by restoring, creating or preserving 30 to 50 hectares of contiguous natural environments, as close as possible to its site.
Quebec grants it a period of 36 months to submit and have a plan approved, then another period of 36 months to implement it, or six years in total.
The Northvolt complex is estimated at 7 billion. Ottawa and Quebec are financing its construction to the tune of 2.75 billion. The two levels of government have also promised up to 4.6 billion in production subsidies.
With The Canadian Press